Power Rangers: Nova Squadron
by Sir Perfluous
Summary: After their first failed invasion of Earth, a race of bio-mechanical aliens have returned to take their vengeance on the planet. Armed with advanced weaponry and backed by the UN Defense Forces, it now falls to the newly formed Rangers of Nova Squad to help defend the planet and ensure the survival of the entire human race.
1. Prologue

Okay everyone, I had some people asking so I decided to release the first part of this new series. Fair warning, it's going to be a little more dark and serious than my typical work, but I've wanted to play with the theme for a long time. A few other quick notes… depending on the way things progress, this may be upped to an M rating later and I'll be slower to update this as I already have a current series going on.

Lots of thanks also go to _**ChibiDawn23** , **fantasticrhapsody** , **SA June** , and **Mistycharming**_ for their great help and creativity in providing OC's for the team. With that said, I do not own Power Rangers, but I hope you still enjoy this series.

* * *

 **In the year 2108, a small spacecraft belonging to an extraterrestrial race we now know as the Adventi was discovered in the Mojave Desert of North America. The ship was believed to have crash landed hundreds of years ago and any signs of its original crew were long gone. While the Adventi appeared to have been a peaceful starfaring race, the existence of their ship sent a clear message to humanity that we were no longer alone in the cosmos.**

 **The scientists of Earth immediately began reverse engineering the alien technology hoping that it would bring benefits to mankind and in many ways, it did. The advances that came from the Adventi knowledge brought about unprecedented prosperity and many believed that humanity would soon reach up to take its place among the stars.**

 **Dr. Andrew Beckett was a brilliant engineer and a visionary who dreamed of seeing that very goal achieved, but he also realized that if benevolent aliens existed, then hostile ones were certain to be out there as well. He began work on defensive weapons derived from the Adventi technology culminating in his greatest experimental project, man made power morphers for a new breed of hero. He created the Alpha Rangers.**

 **For all of Dr. Beckett's brilliance, nothing could have prepared us for the coming of the Xeno Machina, another alien race of bio-mechanical monstrosities from beyond the stars. We had feared that day for a long time. We thought that we were ready... but we couldn't have been more wrong.**

* * *

A deafening explosion rocked the grounds of the National Mall as another alien fighter craft crash landed in the near distance, not too far from the Washington Monument. From behind the visor of his helmet, the Silver Alpha Ranger Martin Sterling could see a fierce dogfight still raging above the skies of Washington D.C. American fighter planes and alien aircraft continued to skirmish, lighting the dark skies up with flares and fiery missiles.

All along the grounds of the capital's main plaza, the lights of small fires flickered over the waters of the reflecting pool while small plumes of smoke rose from the ruined concrete and trees that had been scorched by laser bolts. All along the grounds were the broken forms of a platoon of Xeno foot soldiers that Martin and his team had just routed.

The downed cyborg troops lay sprawled out and the sight of them made Martin's skin crawl. On one hand, they looked almost half-human, but the mess of ugly cybernetic enhancements gave them a truly horrific alien quality about them too. As they lay, several of the drone soldiers twitched and convulsed as their "weaker" human sides gave way.

"Look alive Alpha Squad! We've got one more ready to throw down here," came the voice of Michael Avery, Martin's team leader. The veteran Red Alpha Ranger took a confident step forward and activated a folding metal combat blade while the other Alpha Rangers regrouped behind him.

In the distance, they saw an alien warrior in ornate heavy power armor plod through the smoke and level a large glowing energy sword. He stood a good head taller than the Rangers and the light of the fires reflected off his sleek dark armor. From the sinister conical helmet of the alien glowed two red eyes.

The voice of Amir Hassan, the Blue Alpha Ranger and second-in-command of the squad came in over the comm, "Looks like one of the Force Commanders if I had to guess."

Michael gave a grim laugh, "Even better. Maybe if we drop this guy, we can end the whole thing right here."

Another voice suddenly cut in on the comms of the entire squad. It was Dr. Andrew Beckett, the scientist responsible for the experimental tech behind the new Alpha Rangers in this, their first battle. Not surprisingly, the doctor was monitoring every reading and movement of the fight, "Be careful Rangers. We can't be sure your current weapons will be able to penetrate that armor. I'm going to boost the power output of your morphers as high as I can, but I can't be sure if your suits will hold."

Michael nodded and readied himself against the enemy commander with his trademark cockiness and bravado, "I guess there's only one way to find out, right Doc? Come on Alphas, let's go!"

As the five Alpha Rangers charged forward, the alien commander snorted when he met the attack, "Do not stand in my way humans. You cannot resist the Machina… not even with your bastard form of Adventi weaponry."

Michael charged first but was swept aside as he was forced to block a powerful sword blow from the alien. The Middle Eastern Blue Ranger Amir moved in next but was shocked when the alien swept his blade around in a devastating counter blow which split the Ranger's weapon and dropped him with a terrible burning gash in the torso. "I am Hellspont, Champion of the Machina!"

"Amir! No!" Li Kim, the Green Alpha Ranger shouted as everyone saw their comrade's vital signals instantly flat-line on their HUD's. The South Korean Ranger burst forward to avenge his fallen friend and tried to skewer the general with his own folding blade but the weapon only penetrated halfway, then shattered.

He gasped in surprise as Hellspont swiftly grabbed the front of his helmet and clamped down. Martin could only stare in horror as Li's visor shattered from the crushing grip and the Ranger fell before Hellspont.

"Martin! Martin! Come on! Snap out of it! We've gotta help!" came the voice of Marie LaPointe, the Gold Alpha Ranger.

Martin nodded dumbly before producing a blaster pistol and taking aim with his French comrade. They both fired a volley of searing blaster shots which only did minimal damage to Hellspont before being deflected away by the heavy armor.

"Even your weapons are pathetically weak," the alien scoffed as he ran his blade along the ground sending a powerful shockwave of energy and concrete shards at the two Rangers. Neither had time to avoid the attack and Martin cried out as the shockwave swept over him. It felt like getting hit by a speeding truck and he was thrown violently to the turf.

The Ranger's head spun and his vision went momentarily white before he fought back to consciousness. Everything was chaos and confusion and his head swam while the noise outside felt like he had cotton in his ears. Martin was barely strong enough to roll over on the ground and look through his cracked visor toward the limp form of Marie nearby. The Silver Alpha Ranger gasped to try and breathe as he struggled again to move.

He could feel a light trickle of blood from his brow turning his vision red as the vital signs of all his teammates on the HUD faded one by one. In his comm, he could hear the frantic voice of Dr. Beckett shouting something unintelligible from somewhere far far away. As the badly injured Ranger groaned, he caught sight of the alien commander Hellspont advancing on him with his glowing red eyes and his terrible sword. That was when Martin finally woke up.

* * *

The young man shot up from his bunk and found himself covered in a cold sweat. As he took a moment to steady his breathing, he looked about his sparsely decorated bedroom and sighed in relief. He was back in the safety of Atlantis base. It had only been a nightmare… memories of five years ago… memories he still tried desperately to forget.

The digital clock on the nightstand read 0700 hours and small slits of morning light peeked in through the blinds. He gave another sigh and ran a hand through his short black hair, wiping the sweat away.

That was when he heard a sudden knock at the door, "Martin? It's me, Lucy. Can I come in?"

"Yeah," he called out as he sat in bed and rubbed his eyes.

The door opened and a professional looking young woman walked in. She was dressed in a white blouse with a dark skirt and blazer combo. She was of average height, with straight dirty blonde hair tied back into a neat ponytail and she looked to be in her late twenties like Martin. Although she had very pretty features, she hid them behind a pair of glasses and a relatively serious expression.

"God Martin… you look like hell," she said as she studied him with her sharp eyes, "Rough night?"

"Yeah… something like that," he muttered as he rolled out of bed and walked to his closet where a freshly pressed military uniform hung. It was a royal blue uniform of Earth's new UNAF, the combined United Nations Armed Forces. "You here to give me a wakeup call?"

Lucy snorted in mild amusement to her old friend as she placed a file on his desk. "Actually, I came by to give you this. It's General Caldwell's final roster of candidates. He asked that you make the final decisions and then come by to address the new team of recruits."

Martin stopped and gave the young woman a serious look, "So Caldwell is really going to go through with this, huh? Are you going to be ready?"

Dr. Lucy Beckett tightened her features and took a deep breath before nodding, "I didn't spend all that time getting my doctorate in engineering for nothing. I'm going to make up for the failures of my father… and that starts with the new Nova Morphers. The people of Earth were barely able to fight off the first Xeno invasion, so I owe it to them… and to the rest of your former team."

Martin gave a long solemn nod before turning to the file sitting on his desk, "Thanks Lucy. I'm going to change and then look over that file. You can tell the General I'll be along shortly."

Lucy gave her friend another look, almost showing a hint of concern before giving a small nod and resuming her cool professional demeanor, "We'll see you then Captain Sterling."


	2. First Contact

Bright morning sunlight streamed in through the large glass windows of Atlantis Base as General Marcus Caldwell stood in one of the lounges looking out over the bright open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The tranquil sight of those morning waters was one that the older Canadian military officer would never tire of. It had been a remarkable feat of modern engineering that a small city and military base could operate as a floating outpost in the middle of the great ocean. While there were a few other floating outposts in the world, Atlantis Base was the largest and most prominent one in service to the United Nations Defense Forces since the first Xeno attack five years ago.

Over the glittering morning waters, Caldwell watched as patrols of several technologically advanced fighter jets took off and landed along the floating city's long runway piers to the north. Like a lot of other computer systems and design features of Atlantis Base, the single seater Pegasus jet planes were sleek hybrid fighters that incorporated Adventi technology into their weaponry and flight systems.

The Base Commander's idle thoughts were suddenly drawn away as he heard the swish of automatic doors opening and he turned to see two figures enter from the corridors. One was Dr. Lucy Beckett looking prim and proper while carrying her data slate followed by Captain Martin Sterling. He was a lean young man of average height with short dark hair and eyes. In a way, he could be considered conventionally handsome, even in spite of the stoic and serious expression that he often wore on his face.

The young American officer had forgone his dress blues in favor of the more practical duty uniform of the base personnel: a simple bluish gray jacket and slacks with color coded piping, which on his uniform was red. Like every other duty uniform, it also bore distinct rank and service insignias along with the flag of the owner's member nation on their shoulder.

As they entered, Martin stood at attention and gave a crisp salute, "General."

Caldwell returned the salute with an easy smile and nodded, "Captain Sterling. Doctor Beckett. Good morning to you both. If you'll come with me?"

He gestured down another well lit corridor leading to one of the base atriums and began to walk. As the three made their way down the sterile well lit hallway, Caldwell handed a file folder off to Martin and spoke idly, "I went over your selections for the new squad, Captain. They were fine choices and ones I believe would make an excellent assault team… however, I decided to make some final changes of my own."

Martin opened the file and glanced over it as they walked. He stopped and tried to hide his surprise, "You changed three out of the four selections, sir."

"I did," Caldwell said with a smile, "For this new squad's mission, I believe that more diverse and unconventional skills will be needed… to make a well rounded team."

Martin looked over to Lucy with a small grimace but she merely shrugged in silence.

Finally, they walked out into a large bright atrium surrounded by glass windows where four young men and women stood in the dress uniforms of the UNAF. Upon seeing Caldwell, they all formed up into a line and snapped to attention.

The General saluted back and gave an easy wave, "At ease everyone. For those who are newcomers, welcome to Atlantis Base. I am the Base Commander, General Caldwell and I want to commend each and every one of you. You've been hand picked to join Project Nova and help field test some of the world's most advanced weaponry. If all goes well, you may be activated as the first elite squad of Nova Rangers."

He gestured slowly to his left, "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Lucy Beckett, Chief Engineer and head of Project Nova."

The scientist stepped forward and calmly adjusted her glasses, "It's an honor to meet you, Ranger Candidates. As you know, my late father Andrew Beckett was responsible for the technology behind the original Ranger program. A lot has changed in the past five years and we've made some great leaps forward. There's going to be a lot of work left to do for all of us, but I promise you that my tech will not let you down."

Caldwell nodded and gestured to the military officer on his right, "Everyone, this is Captain Martin Sterling. He had served as a former Alpha Ranger and I've chosen him to be the commander of your new unit. Captain?"

Martin stepped forward and walked down the rank of the Ranger recruits doing an informal inspection while glancing at each of their profiles. He started with the shortest female at the end, an Italian girl with long dark hair and attractive Mediterranean features. "Lt. Carmella Catalano? Italian Air Force?"

She kept a disciplined look forward, "Yes sir, but I also go by Ella."

"It says here you're a specialist in handling computer systems. That might almost be useful. Do you have any field experience?"

Ella hesitated and did her best to not show her nervousness, "I... did take a brief training course with the Airborne infantry."

Martin scrutinized her for a long moment before moving on down the line, "Let's hope it's enough then. Next, up... Lt. Erin Reilly."

A fair skinned brunette girl with an Irish flag patch on her uniform straightened up, "Sir!"

Martin looked over her file and eyed her skeptically, "You're a cultural researcher... fluent in several languages, including extraterrestrial?"

"Yes sir," Erin said in a light lilting accent, "I've been doing extensive research on the language and writing of the Adventi aliens, so that we can better adapt their tech."

Martin nodded slowly while keeping a stony but neutral expression, "All well and good, but what about your combat training?"

Erin blinked a moment and cleared her throat nervously, "I... uh, got passing scores in hand to hand and marksmanship?"

Martin eyed her and kept moving, "If this is going to be an elite combat unit, passing scores are not going to cut it. From here on out, I'm going to expect each and every one of you to score exceptional marks on your core assessments."

He stopped next at a younger bespectacled man who looked to have a mix of dark Asian features, "Lt. Bharata Timothy, Indonesian Covert Ops... you're an Intelligence guy?"

Bharata gave a calm nod, "That's correct sir. I was recently part of a recon scout unit who trained extensively in the jungles."

Martin examined him and saw that Bharata was a bit on the wiry scrawny side. "Well Lieutenant, if our unit becomes active, we'll probably see a lot of direct combat with the enemy. That means we're going to need to get a lot more physical training in... especially for you."

The young lieutenant grimaced and simply nodded in reply.

Finally, Martin marched up to the last recruit. He was a tall fair featured German soldier who stood a good head taller than everyone else. "Lt. Erik Dobermann Jr... Medical Officer and German Special Forces."

"Jawohl mein capitan!" the large man barked with a faint hint of a smile.

Martin grinned slightly as Erik had been one of his original selections for the team... a talented field medic and an able combat airman in the German Air Force. He was arguably the most qualified member among the recruits, and he had been serving at Atlantis Base so Martin already knew him to be a good reliable soldier.

"I'm sorry Lieutenant, for a moment I almost mistook you for an attack dog there."

Erik nodded slightly, "Understandable sir... will there be any personal issues I can improve on?"

Martin tucked the file under his arm and shook his head at the big man, "Actually, I'm going to be in need of an Executive Officer... a second in command. The XO job is open to you if you want it."

Erik nodded and kept a straight disciplined face, "Thank you sir. You can count on me."

As Martin stepped back, Caldwell crossed his arms, "Well, now that all that is settled, are there any other questions?"

Ella raised her hand, "Yes sir. I was just curious, but when are we going to be allowed to field test the morphers and try on the nice spandex?"

From the side, Lucy's eyebrow twitched in mild annoyance as she tried her best to keep her voice level, "That is not spandex Lieutenant. It's a self assembling nano fiber..."

She paused as she caught sight of Martin silently shaking his head toward her before she cleared her throat and composed herself, "First thing's first. I'm going to schedule some sessions to get you up to speed with the other equipment and I'm sure Captain Sterling will want to do some training drills with the whole team too."

Caldwell folded his hands to the others, "If that's it, then I'll leave you to it. Dismissed."

The ranger candidates relaxed a little and looked to each other before they heard Martin call out sharply, "All right, I'll show you four to your living quarters so that you can get settled in. Our first training drills start at 0700 tomorrow morning. I expect to see everyone there awake, on time, and ready to go. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" all four ranger candidates replied as they snapped off a smart salute and followed him out the door.

* * *

Bright light from the sun lit up the far edge of the red planet's horizon as a fleet of Xeno-Machina warships dropped out of hyperdrive into the high orbit of Mars. The host of large alien ships sported aesthetic designs that roughly resembled great baleen whales and did little to reflect the light of the sun with the dark coloration of their hull plating. All along the outer hulls of the whale-like ships were patches of grotesque protrusions that resembled barnacles where weapon systems and sensors had been installed.

As the small armada leveled off and stabilized their position in orbit, the spacecraft formed up around their largest hive ship. Deep within the heart of that colossal ship, the Xeno Machina warrior Hellspont made his way down the tangled corridors toward the command core. The sounds of his heavy metal footsteps echoed in the halls as he passed several cyborg work drones and made his way through the hellish decks full of biomechanical beings going about their duties. Some half-human, half-machine workers inspected consoles with their long steel probe fingers while other half robiticized servitors twitched and moaned from the bulkheads onto which their bodies were completely fused into the ship.

Finally, the general came upon the last gates where a score of armed guards who looked like a horrific amalgamation of partly humanoid gun emplacements stood at their post. Soon enough, the corridor opened up into a wider circular room that almost resembled a nuclear reactor core. At the very center of the dimly lit lair, the Xeno warrior looked up and stopped before the torso of a colossal robotic creature who was fused by pipes and circuitry into the very heart of the ship.

The being's body was dominated by a giant monstrous robotic head with two rows of structures fixed to its shoulders. Within each slot of the structures were smaller cybernetic heads made partly of steel and partly of organic beings. They were bald and featureless yet resembled human ones and their mouths murmured quietly as if they were carrying on several conversations at once. Whether or not those faces were changing or contorting in joy or agony, it was hard to tell.

At the foot of the monstrous robotic being, Hellspont stopped and bowed, "Lord Phaeton, the fleet has just dropped out of warp. Once we make the final preparations, I expect us to arrive at Earth within two days.

"Very good Hellspont," the cybernetic overlord said in a deep menacing voice that seemed to reverberate around the entire chamber, "Ever since I had elevated you to the rank of Warmaster, you have proven yourself worthy of the mechanical upgrades to your body. My trust in you has been well placed."

Hellspont bowed slightly, "I only seek the perfection you offer... to be one with the machines and with you."

Phaeton nodded and gave a thoughtful murmur, "The original splinter fleet that I had sent to Earth several years ago may have been repelled, but this time we will bring the humans of Earth into our fold."

The Warmaster kept a level gaze and focused his cybernetic eyes on his leader, "They will resist us, my lord. They will try to fight using their primitive knowledge of the Adventi."

From his built-in shrine of the ship, the supreme leader of the Xeno Machina closed his eyes and relaxed his biomechanical joints, "Then we will show them the truth of our superior race. We are perfection. We will call out to the lost... those frail beings of flesh and bone, those who fear death even when we offer them eternity. We will not stop until all are one with us."

Warmaster Hellspont bowed his head and turned to leave the hive ship's command core. He had an invasion to plan and there was still much work left to be done.

* * *

That afternoon, Lt. Erik Dobermann sat in the busy mess hall of Atlantis Base eating his lunch and admiring the ocean view from some of the many large bay windows that gave the base its distinct bright and airy quality. He had already been serving in Atlantis for a year as part of a Western European contingent, given that a good number of the base personnel were already dominated by Americans, Canadians, and Britons. Still, the sight of the clear open waters was something he found relaxing. Having showered up and finished with morning training, he enjoyed the brief respite and lounged in his comfortable duty uniform over a meal.

He gave another easy sigh then turned to greet one of his new teammates who joined him for lunch. The wiry Bharata Timothy plopped down in a seat across from him and stretched his neck out a few more times before giving a groan, "Well... that was a fun morning. I think I'll be having muscle spasms for days."

Erik grinned and put his fork down, "Sorry to hear it Bara. Consider it a good training lesson for not getting shot then."

He had been referring to the squad's morning combat exercises, assaulting fixed positions while under fire from low powered stun blasters. While the shots weren't lethal, they still packed enough of a punch to leave a person temporarily dazed during training exercises. Today, Bharata had felt like a magnet for the blaster bolts.

The Indonesian man frowned and took a sip of water, "I don't get it Erik, you're as big as a tree. How did you not get hit once today?"

The big German airman laughed, "When you're as tall as me, you've got to learn to duck really fast, especially when there's trouble."

"Speaking of trouble... here comes some now," Bara joked as their two female squadmates also approached and joined their table.

Ella Catalano looked down toward her plate and gave a discouraged look, "Well Erin, I don't suppose you want to trade. Gray meat lumps in brown sauce doesn't look all that appetizing to me."

"You'll get used to it kid," Erik said kindly as he slid over his cup of blue jello to her, "Sometimes the grub here's not that great but try the jello. It's wunderbar."

As Ella gratefully began to dig in to the dessert, Erin Reilly leaned back in her seat, "Erik, you're kinda the veteran member among us recruits and you know how things go around here... do you really think they're going to officially activate Nova Squad? I mean... we've been here a week and we've been training our asses off."

Erik crossed his arms and shrugged, "I dunno. We are getting an equipment tutorial later today from Dr. Beckett... but I guess it kinda depends on whether or not Captain Sterling thinks we're ready."

The three younger recruits looked to each other, then over to where their commanding officer sat. They spied Martin sitting alone at a corner table at the other end of the room. He had finished his lunch and was drinking a cup of coffee while looking over some data slates.

"That might not be for a while then," Bara muttered in dismay, "Since training started, Captain Sterling's been really hard on us. Did you see the way he chewed out Erin on the obstacle course this morning?"

"Don't remind me," the young Irish recruit muttered in embarrassment, "To be honest, I think Sterling is kinda mean and scary too."

Ella gave a thoughtful look to herself and shrugged, "Really? I actually think he's kinda cute... in a serious broody kind of way."

The others stopped and stared at her for a moment before she continued nonchalantly, "He probably just comes off as kinda mean to you guys because he's lonely."

"Or... maybe it's because he's our C.O. and it's his job to train us," Erik countered.

Ella took another bite of jello, "You probably know him better than we do Erik. Does he always sit and work alone?"

Erik sighed and shrugged, "I haven't worked much with him, but yeah... I guess. Usually the only person I see him spend time with outside of work is Dr. Beckett... sometimes over a meal or a drink at the officer's lounge."

"Ohh, you don't think there's something scandalous going on there, do you?" Erin chuckled with a hint of mischief in her voice.

As the acting X.O. of Nova Squad, Erik gave a mild frown and silenced the others, "Come on everyone, we shouldn't gossip so let's show some respect, huh? Let's focus instead on that weapons demo after lunch, okay?"

"Sounds good to me," Bara smirked, "Maybe this time I'll be the one who gets to fire at something and not get shot back."


	3. Proving Grounds

Beyond the bright blue skies of planet Earth, a small group of space ships belonging to the U.N. Armed Forces began to gather together in high orbit. Despite the advances in space flight from the knowledge of the Adventi aliens, the defense fleet of Earth was still very limited and small. None of the space craft there could have been considered any larger than a frigate as the ability to create any sort of capital ship like a carrier or cruiser would have been much too time consuming and costly.

As the Terran fleet gathered around the lead ship _Exeter_ , Captain Arthur Hood of the UK stood at the bridge looking out over the starry expanse and waited. His First Officer, Commander Miranda Lau stood nearby monitoring the communications between the ships before looking up, "Captain, sensors are starting to pick up signals that match deep space telemetry. We've got a large number of spacecraft headed this way… they look like Xenos vessels."

"What's their E.T.A?"

The Asian officer checked her data pad, "At sub-light engines, they'll be in range in approximately five minutes, sir."

Hood nodded grimly and began to call out several orders, "Raise shields. Shift the fleet into spread formation... all rail guns and point defense cannons stand by to fire."

As the Terran space fleet went to battle stations, Captain Hood turned to his communications officer, "Signal ground control to power up the orbital defense guns. We're going to need all the extra firepower we can get up here."

He had been referring to the planet's Aegis Defense System, a collection of ground based and orbiting cannons that could be directed to fire on enemy space craft. Because Earth could not muster a great armada to defend itself, this had been the next best option in case of another alien attack. Right now, the older British space captain could only hope that it would be enough to drive back the resurgence of their terrible enemy.

Long minutes passed until a large group of menacing alien warships appeared on the sensors and regrouped to meet the meager Terran resistance in space. Hood had seen those space craft five years before and they were no less terrifying this time around. He gripped a nearby handrail and prepared to take command of the battle, "Lock on targets, prepare to fire... Heaven help us all."

* * *

Bright light lit up the large sterile research and development lab as the Nova Rangers gathered together after lunch for a meeting with Dr. Lucy Beckett. The young brunette scientist in a white lab coat waited patiently as the five assembled around a table where two objects sat along with a steel briefcase. When they were settled, Lucy adjusted her glasses and addressed the squad, "Welcome to the R&D lab everyone. This is where our science division studies alien tech and works on advancing your field equipment."

She put on a pair of lab gloves and gingerly picked up the first object on display, a sleek silver laser pistol, "I'm sure you're all familiar with current las-weaponry?"

Bharata nodded, "Just a little. Those kinds of guns haven't been too common in the regular armories up to now."

Lucy nodded, "We're very close to finding ways to mass produce them quickly and cheaply so we expect laser weapons to be phased into modern U.N. forces soon. These Nova Blasters however are much more powerful and energy efficient. I estimate it to be roughly five times stronger than the output of a standard las-rifle."

The Rangers all gave impressed nods before she continued, "We're still trying to figure out a way to replicate the stronger Adventi plasma weapons, but for now these upgraded blasters will be your standard sidearm in the field along with these… the Nova Strikers."

The Rangers all looked on as Lucy put down the pistol and picked up a sleek compact object resembling a weapon handle with a handguard. Giving it a flick, a long blade extended out and the metal began to radiate light and energy.

Lucy held the blade up and explained, "These vibroblades will serve as hand to hand weapons and are also boosted by Adventi tech. The vibrating energy fields created by the Strikers are designed to disrupt the molecules of objects they come into contact with, so they should be very effective at cutting through many things, including metal armor plating."

The Rangers exchanged grins and low whistles until Erik scratched his chin, "So… what you're saying is that they're kinda like a cross between big switch blades and Jedi lightsabers, huh?"

Everyone paused to stare at him in silence, "What… hasn't anyone here seen all those old Star Wars movies from a hundred years ago? They're classics!"

Erin couldn't help but smirk a little while adding, "Yeah... but they should have stopped at the tenth."

Lucy waved it off and opened up the steel briefcase on the table. Within it was five small devices which looked like futuristic wristwatches. All of them had a slight elliptical shape and sported a few buttons along with a small digital monitor. "These are our crowing achievement… your Nova Morphers… lightyears ahead of my own father's original Alpha morphers."

She held the first one up and handed it to Martin, "These will provide your team with advanced nanofiber battle suits allowing for enhanced speed, strength, stamina, and agility."

Martin smiled as he put the morpher on his wrist and saw it briefly give off a red light. "Thanks Luce… they're amazing."

The scientist returned the smile with a pleased nod before handing the morphers off to the others, "I'd like to begin the first field testing this afternoon… if you think they're ready Martin."

The Red Nova Ranger turned to the expectant faces of his new team before giving a slow nod, "We might as well. If there's anything we need to fine tune with the tech, better we do it sooner rather than later."

"Awesome!" Ella grinned as she exchanged a high five with Erin and Bharata.

Martin crossed his arms and cleared his throat authoritatively to quiet them before a chime sounded and the voice of General Caldwell came over the speakers, "Attention all Atlantis Base personnel, this is General Caldwell. We've just received word that the U.N.A.F. space fleet has engaged an armada of Xeno Machina ships over Earth. Our alien enemies have returned."

At the mention of the monstrous invaders, everyone's expressions in the lab dropped and the Rangers' blood ran cold.

"All base personnel are to go to battle stations immediately and await further orders. This is not a drill."

As the announcement cut off, the interior lights within the base changed colors from a calm blue to that of red while a low level warning klaxon began to sound.

Erin turned to the others with wide eyes and a trembling voice, "Is this for real? The Xenos are really back?"

Erik maintained a grave expression as he watched Martin reach for his radio comm bead. "I'm here sir… yes… right away."

As Martin cut off the call, Erik tilted his head curiously, "I take it that was General Caldwell?"

"He's calling for Nova Squad to report to the Command Tower ASAP," Martin nodded as he quickly gestured toward the door.

Ella took one more fearful look toward the weapons on the lab table before speaking up, "Is he really going to send us out to fight? I… what are we going to do, sir?"

Martin quickly glanced to Lucy and saw her give a slow nod. Though she tried to maintain her cool composure, there was an unmistakable trace of fear and concern in her features. Martin fixed his team with a steely look and began to head for the door, "We're going to do our jobs Lieutenant. Now fall in."

* * *

At the heart of Atlantis Base stood a tall central tower that loomed over all the other structures. After taking a turbo lift all the way to the top of the great structure, Martin led the team into the command center of the entire base. In many ways, it resembled an impressive air traffic control tower lined with windows and control monitors. The command crews in the tower were already buzzing about with activity, taking readings, going through emergency defense protocols, and prepping flight assignments for the base's fighter squadrons.

At the head of a long table with a holographic tactical display, General Caldwell stood and greeted them. The calm and kindly expression that the older general normally wore had been replaced with a grim and focused look. "Rangers… I wasn't expecting to activate Nova Squad so soon, but I'm afraid we have little choice in the matter now."

The members of Nova Squad exchanged uneasy looks before Martin spoke up, "What do you need us to do, sir?"

Caldwell gestured to the holographic display showing the current battle going on above the planet. "The Xenos have come back with an even greater invasion force than last time and things are not going well for the fleet up there. They're outclassed, outnumbered, and barely holding their own, even with the Aegis Defense Systems."

The map magnified into a view of low orbit and the Rangers saw a few alien blips getting through and heading for the surface of the planet. Caldwell pointed his finger and circled the largest blip which was headed toward Paris, France.

"The fleet is going to attempt to cripple the enemy armada in space, but we're going to need to assist them on the ground. Several Xeno drop pods have broken through our screens and are headed toward some of our strategic points. The largest one here is landing in Paris, the location of a critical power generator for one of our orbital defense guns. I'll need Nova Squad to stop them and protect the population center in the city."

Erin frowned as she studied the screen, "General… how are we going to get to Paris in time? We're in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean."

Caldwell gave a grim smile and pointed to the monitor showing several small satellites over the Earth, "You're going to use the Trans-Orbital Relay Assembly to teleport there. With that network of satellites, we'll be able to transport you and other small assault teams wherever there's trouble."

"Understood General. We're on our way," Martin said as he and the others gave a salute and headed for the turbolift. As he turned to go, he stopped as he heard Caldwell call out to him.

"Captain Sterling… godspeed out there."

The Red Nova Ranger gave a resolute nod to the General and headed toward the door following the rest of his team.

* * *

A short while later, the Rangers were directed to a large spacious room with a wide circular transport platform raised a few inches off the floor. Above the platform hung several odd devices which played a part in manipulating matter and energy, allowing for it to be teleported away via the relay system.

As a few base technicians stood behind a console to operate the platform, the Rangers made last minute preparations to deploy. All five of them had donned battle gear consisting of dark blue fatigues with black flack jackets and combat helmets. Along with their gear, each of them carried compact assault rifles, FN 2000's which had been modified into laser weapons.

As they stood on the transit platform, Ella gave an uneasy look, both at the thought of going into combat and being teleported for the first time in her life. "Uh... guys? This is supposed to be safe, right?"

Erin scratched her chin trying to calm her own nerves, "Well... yeah, even though we're getting our atoms scrambled and reassembled on the other side of the ocean. No worries... heh."

"Lock and load people. The enemy is on the move and we've got a job to do," Martin said as he took his place on the platform, "Besides... I hear Paris is lovely this time of year."

Bharata turned to Erik with a mildly shocked look, "Did Captain Sterling just crack a joke?"

The German didn't get a chance to answer as Lucy's voice came in over their comms, "Standby for transport Rangers. From here on out, I'm going to be here in the command tower monitoring your tech and acting as your eyes in the sky."

"Like a guardian angel..." Martin quipped grimly, "Ready when you are Luce."

In a flash, the transporter activated and the Rangers were momentarily blinded while feeling their whole bodies tingle. Several heartbeats later, the light faded and the five Rangers found themselves standing in what looked to be the city of Paris. A large monumental column rose up behind them giving them a landmark before they spotted several plumes of billowing smoke rising up in the near distance.

Warning and police sirens were already blaring and the square that the Rangers were standing in was quickly being evacuated by terrified civilians. Bharata scanned the area and looked for any signs of immediate danger, "Okay... where are we?",

"La Place de Bastille... and there's the July Column" Erik replied as he waved the others to follow Martin west toward the heart of the city's downtown.

"Lt. Dobermann is correct," Lucy said over their comms, "We're picking up a concentration of enemy bio signs about one kilometer west of your position. It's right around the building where the cannon generator is located."

The five Rangers hurried down the winding streets of Paris until they came to another open square where a fierce fire fight was already raging between Xeno forces and another UNAF squad. They got down low as several searing laser bolts streaked by and scorched nearby cars and buildings. Peering through the smoke of the battle, they were surprised at the absence of the typical Xeno cyborgs used for grunt infantry. Instead, the enemy were more humanoid in appearance, wearing dark form fitting armor suits with conical helmets and carrying spear like weapons which doubled as blasters. Unlike the original clunky cyborgs, the new Xeno infantry moved and reacted a lot like regular human soldiers.

Along the allied skirmish line several dead and injured Parisians lay on the pavement. Erik was the first to drop to his knees near an injured civilian woman who moaned with a terrible burn on her leg. He immediately pulled out a small medical kit and began administering first aid while waving to a slack jawed Erin to help the victim. Another explosion rocked the square and Martin barked out another command, "Timothy! Catalano! Lay down some covering fire so Dobermann and Reilly can get the survivors clear!"

Bharata and Ella joined several other UN troopers on the line and fired back against the enemy while Martin crouched and shook hands with the other squad's acting leader, a petite young woman with lightly tanned skin and light strands of hair peeking out from her helmet.

"Sergeant Clarissa Lewis... where is your leader, Lt. Finkel?"

"He's dead Captain," she replied quickly, "We tried to push those new Xenos back, but they put us in a crossfire and dropped him. We're holding the line until reinforcements arrive."

Martin gave a grim nod, "I guess that's us. We heard the Xenos are trying to capture one of the generators that provides power for the Aegis guns. We have to drive them back from the building and secure that position."

"We have a lot of injured civilians here sir," Sgt. Lewis replied over another hail of enemy fire. A member of her squad gave a pained cry as the trooper spun sideways to the ground. He had taken a glancing blaster bolt to the shoulder and while the flak armor had absorbed some damage, an ugly crater of burnt flesh continued to smoke from the stunned trooper's upper torso.

Clarissa grimaced, "That makes three more members of our squad down... it's not going to be easy."

"Leave it to us," Martin replied as he waved his squad together, "Clarissa, give us some covering fire. My team is going to flank those Xenos and we'll make a break for the generator building."

As Clarissa gathered her ragged squad together and opened fire, the Rangers dashed down a side alley and wove through obstacles on the street amid sporadic enemy blaster bolts. As they ran, Erik gave a grim smile to his Indonesian comrade, "Stay low Bara. You don't want to get hit today."

Once in position, Nova Squad paused, then charged the enemy from the side, putting the Xenos in a withering crossfire of UN laser weapons. With a great burst of speed and agility, Ella bounded up the hood of a car and surprised several more enemy troopers while Bharata came around the side and assisted with his own rifle. After a terrifying moment of ferocious automatic laser rifle fire, a score of the Xenos lay dead while a small pack of the survivors fell back to a safer position a few blocks away.

Martin paused a moment to calmly snipe a fleeing Xeno soldier before turning back to his comrades, "Good job everyone... looks like the training paid off."

As Clarissa and her own team moved forward to join the Rangers in a momentary celebration, Martin added, "Oh... Catalano and Timothy, those were some nice moves back there."

The two younger Ranger grinned in pride while Erik stooped down to examine some of the fallen enemy soldiers. While he did, Erin glanced over them too and frowned in confusion as she saw some unusual extraterrestrial writing on the gear of some of the enemy dead. It looked strangely similar to Adventi, the aliens whose technology had helped humanity.

She didn't have long to study it though as one more enemy landing pod dropped from the sky and landed in the middle of the city street with a great crash. The startled Rangers ducked behind some cover as a small cloud of concrete and debris rained down while the landing pod opened and a larger Xeno monster emerged.

"What in the hell is that thing?" Ella exclaimed in shock as the creature stepped forward to face them. It had a mechanical humanoid body with several cylindrical batteries jutting out of its sides and coils and plugs coming out of its arms. The monster was heavily armored and raised its head to focus its single eye on them, a glowing red light on a featureless head.

"Rangers, that looks like one of the lesser field commanders who had gotten through," Lucy called over their comm. "Quick scans of that thing suggest he might have the means to siphon off energy from the orbital gun generators. You can't let that happen."

"We won't let that happen," Erik answered as he leveled his rifle on the incoming monster.

Lucy's voice rang out, "No Lieutenant! Conventional weapons are not going to scratch that field commander's armor."

Martin nodded and stepped forward, brandishing his morpher, "All right then... looks like we're going to need some extra firepower here. You guys ready to save the world?"

The other Ranger recruits took deep breaths and stepped forward with their morphers to join their leader. Erin surprised everyone by speaking up, "It's now or never... so let's do this."

In union, they punched the button codes on their Nova Morphers and felt the buzzing forces of alien hardware, nanotechnology, and an ambient bioenergy field come together... engulfing the five in a radiant flash of colored light.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Sorry everyone, I'll show off the Ranger suits and powers in the following chapter to tie up the little introductory arc. There's a lot going on here with the plot and world building so hopefully you guys were able to follow along. Also fair warning... I'm going to be playing a little fast and loose with the "hard science" elements of this series too as I wasn't an Engineering or Computer Science major.  
**

 **Finally, a special salute also goes to Charlotte Hartley for her OC, Sgt. Clarissa Lewis that was featured in the chapter. Thanks again for your submission**!


	4. Baptism by Fire

Sgt. Clarissa Lewis waved her squad back as they marveled at the appearance of five actual Power Rangers. Each Nova Ranger wore a flexible suit made from an alloy of dark metallic nano fibers. Over the base suit, sleek lightweight steel in five different colors adorned each Ranger like futuristic half-plate armor. Along the edges of the armor, corresponding lines of colored neon light glowed gently, giving the advanced suits an even cleaner and more vibrant aesthetic. As light from the sun above glinted off the Rangers' shield shaped visors the Xeno field commander paused in momentary uncertainty. True to their name, these Rangers were indeed new brilliant heroes whose powers originated from technology beyond the stars.

"Whoah… I can't believe it worked," Erin exclaimed as she admired the yellow color of her suit.

Erik took a moment to look over his new blue colored combat suit and clench a fist, "This is just what we need."

Ella turned to her comrades and couldn't help but smile, "Dr. Beckett was right… this isn't spandex… it's way better!"

Martin almost thought he could hear Lucy grinding her teeth on the other end of the comm before he moved to confront the Xeno menace, "Let's focus people. The battle's not over yet."

He tapped a button on his morpher and the others watched as a Nova Blaster pistol was instantly transported to his hand.

Lucy spoke again, "Rangers, your morphers are directly linked to the Orbital Relay. With it, we'll be able to transport your battle gear in an instant."

"Thanks Dr. B. What are we waiting for?" Bharata grinned while reaching for his morpher, "Let's kick some ass!"

As the other Rangers called on their blasters and vibroblades, the Xeno battery monster stomped forward and fired off a writhing mass of cables and plugs from its arms to try and tangle the humans with artificial tentacles. The squad broke their huddle and rolled away while using their weapons to fend off the attacks.

Erik and Ella nimbly hacked apart several of the cables with their glowing energy blades while Martin, Bara, and Erin shot other cable tentacles to pieces with well placed blaster shots. As the Xeno commander retracted its cable fingers, it seemed to switch modes and activate two shoulder mounted cannons that swiveled into place.

"Damn... that thing is like some kinda freaky Transformer," Erin called as the monster fired its guns and the Rangers dove away to safety. The blast of the shoulder cannons rocked the city square and left a wide swath of melted steel and concrete from where it had struck. As the Rangers took cover, Erik turned to the Red Ranger, "What now, sir?"

Martin paused and thought furiously for a new tactic before he decided to try something new. He turned to the Green Ranger, "Bharata, you're the intel guy. Scan that monster and look for some kind of weakness we can exploit."

The Green Ranger blinked in surprise before nodding and turning toward the alien. Using the advanced sensors and HUD built into his helmet, Bharata noted that the shoulder cannons were still overheated and was drawing a lot of power from the rest of the alien's body.

He turned back to the others and waved them on, "That monster's guns are still recharging. If we're going to strike, now's our chance!"

Martin nodded and signaled the others, "Okay Rangers... let's blitz this guy. Combined arms... by twos."

Everyone nodded and burst from cover setting up for an all out attack on the vulnerable alien. As they crouched, the Green and Yellow Nova Rangers fired a barrage of blaster fire to clear the way as Erik and Ella charged with their Nova Strikers. The alien reeled from the blaster shots and only had enough time to raise its coiled arms up to shield itself from the incoming melee weapons. The Blue and Pink Rangers gave a shout as they brought their weapons down in a powerful combined strike to sever both the monsters arms in a cloud of sparks, oil, and shrapnel. As Erik and Ella pivoted away, the armless Xeno warrior staggered backwards drunkenly, right into the sights of the Red Nova Ranger.

Martin switched the mode of his blaster to overcharge and pointed it directly at the damaged monster. As the charge built up into a brilliant vibrating light in the barrel of the pistol, Martin leveled the weapon directly on the monster's center of mass, "This is for Alpha Squad."

He pulled the trigger and fired the overcharged laser blast at the Xeno. The bolt struck the commander's torso and blew a hole clean through its armored body. As the sudden system shock went through the dying cybernetic commander, the rows of smaller batteries that ran along its sides exploded, engulfing the alien in a large violent fireball.

The others Rangers gathered around as Martin twirled the pistol and quickly holstered it.

"Uh… wow. Nice shot sir," Bharata said as he took one more glance at the smoldering ruins of the monster they had destroyed.

Before anyone else could speak, Lucy's voice cut in over the comm, "Rangers…we have a problem. The power from the Paris generator is dropping off. The Xenos must have infiltrated the building and tampered with the systems beforehand. If we don't get that power back to the cannons soon, the fleet may be in jeopardy."

"Understood Lucy," Martin replied before turning toward the Pink Ranger, "Catalano, you're up. We need you to get the generator's systems up and running again. Think you can do it?"

Ella swallowed nervously for a moment before nodding and following the others inside the large evacuated building. After rushing through the ruined front lobby and pushing through a few doors, the Rangers all took a stairwell down to the underground bunker where the generator systems were located. As they reached the central room, they saw in horror that some of the consoles had indeed been blown apart and tampered with by the enemy. Ella hurried over to the nearest console and began punching in computer codes to gain access.

The others couldn't help but stand back and watch as she furiously worked the keyboard and muttered to herself, " _Che palle! (what a pain in the ass)_ Okay Ella, just stay calm… the survival of the whole fleet is up to you… no pressure, right?"

Finally, the screen changed and strings of code appeared which Ella began to manipulate. The Pink Ranger gave a nervous cheer as she continued to work, "Ok Lucy, I'm in. Looks like the Xenos screwed this up but they did a shoddy job. I'm rerouting all primary control functions to Atlantis Base remotely so that you guys can keep the generator's systems regulated. Transmitting now."

She hit the enter key and the Rangers watched as the chaos of the control room stabilized and the whirring sounds of the generators evened out.

"Nice job Ella! You did it!" Erik cheered while she pulled her pink helmet off and moved quickly for the door.

"Captain… excuse me… now that the world is safe, I think I'd like to go throw up now."

The others stared in bewildered shock as Ella hurried out of the room before Martin shook his head gently. While no one could see behind the visor of his helmet, a small relieved smile of amusement pulled at the corner of his lips before he radioed in to base, "Atlantis Base, this is Captain Sterling. The generator is secured. Mission accomplished."

* * *

A short time later the Nova Rangers powered down and left the generator complex, stepping back onto the ruined streets of downtown Paris. They were greeted by the sights of damaged buildings, bodies of Xenos of civilians littering the ground, and small fires burning while firemen and EMTs scrambled to respond.

Erik rolled up his sleeves and turned to the Red Ranger, "Sir, with permission I'd like to try and help some of the wounded here."

Martin nodded before turning to Bharata, "Timothy, I want you to go back and check on Catalano. Make sure she's okay and keep a sharp eye out for any enemy stragglers."

The Green Nova Ranger nodded as both he and the Blue Ranger hurried off to their tasks.

As Martin turned around, he glanced over to where Erin had wandered near a downed Xeno foot soldier. The younger Yellow Ranger stood in shock as she saw the alien had removed its helmet revealing startlingly human features. The warrior lay bleeding out from a few holes where las-rifle shots had punched through his armor and off-color bluish red blood pooled under him. He struggled to move and gurgled something as Erin stepped closer and knelt down over him. She frowned, recognizing some of the familiar language's sounds. She cleared her throat and spoke in Adventi, "Hold still... we'll get you help."

The warrior dragged himself closer and reached for something concealed under his side but he never got the chance to remove it as Martin quickly drew his pistol and strode up, putting two shots right into the alien's chest to kill it.

At the sudden sharp cracks of the laser pistol, Erin jumped up in surprise and anger as the alien slumped over dead. She whirled on her commander with a look of outrage, "I… sir… with respect, what the hell? It looks like a human! We could've taken him prisoner! It looked like he might have wanted to surrender."

Martin pushed past Erin and lightly kicked the dead Xeno trooper over revealing that it had been reaching for a combat knife at its belt.

"It looks like he might have wanted to kill you Lieutenant," the Red Ranger replied coldly while holstering his gun, "I don't know what these freaks are but they aren't human."

"You didn't have to do that sir," Erin argued, "You basically executed him in cold blood right here."

The Red Ranger turned and snapped back sharply, "Don't be so naïve Lieutenant. You think the Xenos care? You actually think they're going to show you any mercy? We have to kill them before they kill us… it's as simple as that."

The Yellow Ranger took several breaths to restrain her emotions before looking again to the dead alien trooper, "I'm sorry sir… it just doesn't seem right."

Martin softened his expression and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "My job is to keep all of you Rangers alive… if that means having to kill every last one of these abominations, then so help me God, I'll do it."

Erin stopped and looked in surprise as Martin removed his hand and walked away from the scene in silence. The Yellow Ranger glanced at her morpher and then to the hazy skies. A new vicious war with the Xenos had just begun and Erin Reilly was now feeling like she was in way over her head. The fighting had died down in Paris and she welcomed this brief moment of calm in the streets. As she looked to the skies, she could only wonder if the fleet was faring any better above the planet.

Her thoughts were interrupted once more as she heard Erik calling out to her. He was kneeling over an injured civilian and trying to staunch a bleeding wound in the victim's side. "Erin... I think you probably speak better French than I do. Can I get some help here?"

She nodded and walked over, hoping that busying herself like this would keep her focused and brave. Right now, she had to be.

* * *

Meanwhile, up above the planet, a fierce battle continued to rage as the Xeno Machina warships pressed their attack, even in the face of stubborn fire from the remaining Terran ships. Captain Arthur Hood braced himself as his frigate shook again from the impact of an enemy shot. Turning to look out his portside window, he saw another UN corvette explode into a fiery ball of shrapnel. Things were getting desperate now. The Terran fleet had been decimated and they were about to be overrun.

The British starship captain had a plan to try and cripple the Xeno flagship, but he needed all the orbital guns back online and he was running out of time. The ship shook with another impact as one of his bridge officers called, "Sir, shields are down to 10 percent. We can't take much more of this."

Hood grimaced and clutched his seat. They just needed to hold out a little longer. He needed to trust that his old friend General Caldwell would come through for him. That was when he heard the familiar voice of his Canadian colleague on the radio, "Captain Hood, the Nova Rangers have secured the Paris Generator. All orbital guns are standing by for maximum yield fire."

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that Marcus," Hood replied while turning back to the Xeno flagship ahead of him. "To think… that Project Nova you were pushing so hard for might have just saved us all."

Caldwell's voice faltered, "There has to be another way Arthur. You shouldn't have to do this."

Hood shook his head and began tapping commands on his console, "We're soldiers Marcus. We both know what has to be done. Just have those guns ready to fire on my mark… and thank those Rangers of yours for me."

"I will… give them hell Art," Caldwell answered over the radio.

"Goodbye old friend," Hood smiled as he cut the channel and turned to his crew, "Miranda... everyone... this will be my final order… all hands abandon ship."

Soon enough, escape pods began to drop away from the battered frigate _Exeter_ leaving its captain by himself on the bridge. As he typed in a last command code, he powered the engines and opened a channel, "Attention all UNAF forces, this is Captain Arthur Hood of the _Exeter_. I need all remaining ships and gun emplacements to focus fire toward the Xeno flagship's power grid. I'm sending targeting info now."

The few remaining Earth ships maneuvered and began to open fire on the Xeno flagship, clearing the way for _Exeter_. As the frigate surged forward, the planet's orbital guns fired a blistering concentrated salvo that tore through the Xeno vessels' shields and allowed the _Exeter_ to power ahead for a point blank kamikaze attack.

From the bridge of the Xeno flagship, Warmaster Hellspont cried out in alarm as he saw the suicidal Terran frigate break through and ram itself into their starboard aft. Amid the great explosion that resulted, the alien flagship was shaken to its core and turned away from the battle.

The wounded flagship limped and tried to maneuver, but Hellspont growled as he saw the lights flicker and the power levels of the ship fluctuate. "What happened? What have those damned Terrans done?"

One of the drones on the bridge replied in a monotone voice, "Severe damage registered to the ships power generators. Unable to compensate for fluctuations. Several primary system failures eminent."

The Warmaster tightened his fist in fury as he slammed the nearest console, "We'll have to withdraw and repair our power cores. Call off the fleet and take us out toward the far side of the Earth's moon. We'll land there and set up our new forward base in the meantime."

* * *

To the amazement of the remaining Terran fleet and observers on Earth, the enemy fire died off and the Xeno fleet turned and withdrew off toward the safety of the moon's dark side. From his observation post back in Atlantis Base, General Caldwell stood silent while the other people of the base erupted into loud cheers and giddy handshakes. Although the mood in the tower was temporarily jubilant, his heart still felt very heavy for the loss of his old friend and the crews of the other ships that had been destroyed in battle.

He glanced over toward Lucy who sat back from her own console and removed her headset. The young woman looked completely drained, having been stressed with the battle and worrying about the lives and equipment of the Rangers in their first major action. She looked to him and he gave a small reassuring smile, "You did great work today Dr. Beckett. You should be very proud."

"Thank you General," she sighed as he walked over.

"What of the Nova Rangers?"

Lucy tapped her screen and typed in a few key commands, "They're on their way home. They wanted to check on the civilians before getting back to the nearest relay beacon."

Caldwell gave a long sigh and nodded, "Very good Dr. Beckett. When they get back, let them know I'd like to debrief them personally."

* * *

After the events of the harrowing battle above the planet and the fierce skirmishes that had erupted to fight off the first alien landing parties, life had almost begun to return to some state of normalcy, given the heightened tension that the Xeno Machina threat had returned to menace Earth. For the newly christened Nova Rangers, the following two days were spent getting debriefed, preparing after action reports, and getting checked by doctors for any adverse effects of using the new Ranger morphers.

While the team enjoyed the relatively peaceful lull in the action, they were told that the alien armada had retreated to the dark side of the moon and had begun setting up a temporary base there. With the alien flagship heavily crippled and the UN space fleet too weak to launch any sort of counterattack, both sides were forced to settle into an uneasy stalemate for now. Despite the circumstances, the people of Earth had a lot to be proud of. They had put up a much better defense and succeeded at turning back a great enemy force, albeit at great cost. Now with alien enemies based on the moon and the emergence of new Power Rangers to confront them, the outcome of this global conflict would be one that no one could be able to predict.

Late that afternoon, Captain Martin Sterling sat in the largely empty mess hall of Atlantis Base. A few people who had straggled in from their work shifts were still finishing their lunch while Martin sat alone at a table looking out over blue oceans. He held a cup of coffee and took a long drink reflecting on the events of the last few days and of what challenges were yet to come. He had spent the last five years fighting and clawing back from his injuries and traumatic near death experience and even now, he wasn't sure what to make of everything. Earth had changed, he had changed, and so had the enemy. If there was any constant, it was going to be his decision that he wouldn't let what happened to him happen to this new team of Rangers. He wasn't certain about them yet, but if General Caldwell believed in them, then he would have to do the same.

This thoughts were interrupted as he saw four familiar figures approach the table. Standing before him were his new teammates. Erik Dobermann cleared his throat and stood straight, "Sorry to disturb you Captain... uh, do you mind if we join you?"

Martin looked in surprise and saw that they all had trays with bowls of dessert. He gestured to the open chairs and scratched his neck, "I'm sorry... I thought you guys ate already. I really wasn't expecting any company."

"Well sir, all of us were talking and we decided that you shouldn't always have to sit here alone," Bharata chimed in.

Erin cleared her own throat and nodded, "You helped lead us to a major victory in Paris a few days ago Captain. We just want you to know that even if we aren't elite soldiers just yet, you can still count on us."

The Red Ranger studied everyone carefully for a long moment before giving a sigh, "Thank you everyone... to be honest, I'm not quite sure what to say right now."

Ella gave a cheerful smile and passed him a small bowl of red colored Jello, "How about just starting by having dessert with us? Try the Jello, sir... it really is wunderbar."

Martin glanced toward Erik and the big German airman couldn't help but shrug and laugh. The Red Ranger picked up a spoon and took a bite while everyone watched in silence. After a long moment, Martin swallowed and the smallest hint of a smile formed at the corner of his lips, "Well, what are you all waiting for? This great dessert isn't going to eat itself."

As the whole squad continued to sit together for the first time over their meal, Martin listened as the rest of the squad began to laugh out loud before they started cracking jokes of their own. He hadn't been around this kind of banter or laughter for five years, but he was surprised at how much he enjoyed it... at how much he had missed it. As he sat among his lively teammates he decided to himself that he wouldn't let the Xeno Machina win. He had a planet to fight for, a team to protect, and moments like this to savor.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **There we have it. I hope you enjoyed the start of this somewhat darker edgier story as the introduction here kind of sets the overall tone. It's a little different and experimental, but I enjoy taking risks and challenges when writing. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a break from this series and go back to writing some other lighter happier stories for a while. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Service Above Self

**Mission 2: Part 1**

A cloud of steam erupted from some pipes as Warmaster Hellspont made his way on a routine inspection of his great flagship. The bio-mechanically enhanced general in dark armor reached the bridge where he saw several organically assimilated drones busily carrying out their repair duties over consoles and computer stations. The place was dimly lit as power was still being conserved during reconstruction. At the behest of the Supreme Overlord Phaeton, the crippled spacecraft had landed on the far side of the moon and was now being converted into a massive base from which the Xeno-Machina aliens were to launch future attacks on planet Earth.

The general brought up a display screen in the dim bridge to directly communicate with the Xeno Overlord whose massive body and consciousness was directly fused into the bowels of the ship, "Lord Phaeton... repairs and modifications are going according to plan. I estimate the base should begin to be fully functional in another week."

"Very good Hellspont. Despite the results of the last fleet battle, you've proven yourself competent enough for me to retain you," the deep voice of the cybernetic being answered as it reverberated through the entire bridge.

Hellspont winced, having been reminded of his failure to eradicate the Terran fleet and breach their defenses. Because of that, the renewed war between Xeno-Machina and the Terrans of Earth were now stuck in a tense stalemate. He took a breath and kept a level tone, "What shall we do in the meantime my lord? The orbital defenses of the Terrans are still a formidable threat to our warships. We don't have enough power or resources to launch another direct attack right now."

"Until then, we will rely on subterfuge and attrition," Phaeton replied, "I have already sent for a field commander to be deployed in a transport pod... a specialist in chemical warfare designated Cyanode. With these sorties, we can test the humans' defenses and gather more information about them for future study. I am especially interested in these Nova Rangers who appeared in the fighting."

The Warmaster grimaced and gave a reluctant nod knowing there was nothing more he could do. "As you wish Lord Phaeton. I'll have the next attack pod prepped for launch within the hour."

He cut the connection and sat down in his command chair, all while overseeing the repairs. This wasn't the kind of campaign he'd originally hoped he'd be running but he had to try and handle the situation as best as he could. For now, there was a lot to do and many more battles to plan for.

* * *

Lt. Erik Dobermann Jr. strolled through the bright well lit halls of Atlantis Base, occasionally glancing out the large windows to admire the view of the Atlantic Ocean surrounding the outpost city. It had been nearly two weeks since the terrifying return of the Xeno-Machina aliens and things had just begun to settle again in the aftermath. The combined UN space fleet had been nearly wiped out in the battle above the planet had it not been for the intervention of the newly formed Power Rangers of Nova Squadron.

With the planet's orbital defense guns intact, the alien fleet had been forced to withdraw back to the dark side of the Earth's moon. For now, a tense standoff had begun as the UN defense forces watched and waited for any sign of renewed alien activity. Despite the harrowing ordeal of turning back the first wave, the people of Earth had to do their best to prepare for any future danger while trying to carry on again with some sense of normalcy.

On that particular day, Erik was headed out toward the western quarter of Atlantis which served as an unofficial commercial and entertainment district of the city. Numerous stores, restaurants, parks, and entertainment venues had been allowed to sprout up in the more pedestrian friendly city section allowing for a place where the base personnel could relax and feel a little more at home during their off hours. The Blue Nova Ranger zipped up his duty jacket and pondered which stores he should visit. He need to brainstorm some ideas for a very special gift for a very special person.

As he passed through the base's bustling central atrium to reach the platform of the monorail transport juncture, he came upon his fellow Ranger, Ella Catalano hurrying to catch up with him. The young Italian woman carried a small plastic container with her as she waved her tall German comrade down, "Erik! There you are! Do you have a minute? I need your help."

He gave a good natured smile to the Pink Ranger and shrugged, "Sure. What's up Ella?"

"I want you to try some of this homemade cannoli that I made myself."

Erik curiously took one of the tube shaped Italian pastries from the container and examined it, "Cannoli huh? Feeling a little homesick?"

Ella gave a sheepish shrug and glanced away, "Actually, I was planning on giving it to Captain Sterling. He's off flying a routine patrol and getting some practice in with the new fighter jets. I was gonna surprise him when he returned."

"Ah... it's cute that you have a little crush on him and all, but I'm sure you know it's probably not a good idea to try and hook up with those in your chain of command... especially your commanding officer, right?" Erik replied carefully. As the squad's executive officer and second in command, he felt he had to at least remind her of protocol.

Ella bit her lip and huffed, "I know that! I just figured I'd do the next best thing in my position… which is just something nice."

Erik gave a patient sigh and rolled his eyes before taking a bite of the pastry. He immediately wished that he hadn't as a horrible sensation assaulted his tastebuds. What the hell did she put in that cannoli anyway? It was as if he had put a sweaty gym sock in his mouth after training exercises. He bravely chewed the pastry and swallowed it with great effort, suppressing his gag reflex. Maybe he was wrong after all. Maybe she was inadvertently planning to "assassinate" their commander instead.

"Oh... I guess it could use a little more sugar in the ricotta filling, but it's fine," Erik said diplomatically as he sucked in some air, "I've gotta get going now. I'm on my way to the West End."

"Oh? Are you planning to blow off some steam?" Ella asked curiously.

Erik shook his head and gave a wave as he walked toward the next monorail as it arrived, "Nope. Going shopping. It's a special gift for a special girl."

"Good luck!" Ella waved cheerfully as Erik boarded the small train car and headed off away from the platform. She eyed her canolli again and gave a hopeful smile, "And good luck to you too."

* * *

Meanwhile, Lt. Erin Reilly ambled toward the halls of the base until she reached the doors of the R&D lab. She keyed in her security clearance code and hesitantly entered to find Dr. Lucy Beckett by herself working in one of the lab rooms by herself. A few other lab techs and scientists milled about down the glass hallways busy with their own projects and didn't pay her any mind. The Yellow Nova Ranger walked into the central lab and saw Lucy standing over a table with several recovered pieces of equipment and remains of the Xeno Machina forces they had recently battled on the streets of Paris.

"Err... excuse me Dr. Beckett?" she asked cautiously.

The young bespectacled woman in the labcoat stiffened up in surprise before sighing in relief, "Oh... Lt. Reilly. You startled me."

"Sorry," Erin replied sheepishly as she reached the lab table, "I uh... came by hoping I could maybe lend you a hand with this stuff."

Lucy gave the Irish woman a curious glance before getting back to scanning what looked to be an armored shoulder plate of a Xeno warrior, "I didn't know you had an interest in the engineering side of things. I thought you were a linguist."

"That's true Doc. I was hoping I could take a closer look at some of the things recovered from the last battle. I thought I recognized some of the symbols on the Xenos' gear."

Lucy raised an eyebrow and stopped what she was doing. She led Erin across the room where a pile of other unsorted items lay scattered on a table. "Help yourself. We haven't catalogued this stuff yet and probably won't get to it for a while, though to be honest... I'd be really surprised if you recognized anything in the alien writing."

Erin nodded and began rummaging through the mess, "I know it sounds weird Doc, but during the battle, I thought I saw some possible similarities and patterns to that of the Adventi race. I had been doing a lot of research on that sort of thing before I transferred here."

"Hmm, I wonder why that would be. A connection between the Xenos and the Adventi?" Lucy mused before giving a tired shrug, "If it makes you feel any better, I've been coming across some strange findings myself after the last battle. I had gotten some preliminary data from some of the medical researchers here when they did autopsies of some of the alien soldiers."

Erin looked up curiously as Lucy continued, "It seems those new Xeno soldiers are much more organic than the regular drone soldiers that attacked five years ago. The troops now are much more human... or rather, superhuman."

"Like... genetically modified troops?" Erin asked in shock.

"Something like that. They seem to be genetically close to us humans, but it's too early to draw any conclusions yet," Lucy nodded with a furrowed brow, "Either way, they seemed to be much more flexible and adaptable on the battlefield... and the gear I was going over suggests they've gotten an upgrade too. Their energy weapons pack a bigger punch and their armor is better too."

The Yellow Ranger gulped, "That sounds serious. Are you going to tell Captain Sterling and General Caldwell?"

"Once I get time to prepare an official report," Lucy sighed before being interrupted by a comm link transmission. It was General Caldwell.

"Lt. Reilly? Dr. Beckett? I need to see you two in the Command Tower right away."

"On our way," Erin replied giving a serious nod toward Lucy before both young women hurried out of the lab and made their way toward the central spire at the heart of the city.

* * *

When Erin and Lucy arrived in the Command Center of Atlantis base, they found General Caldwell studying his holographic tactical map while the other Rangers waited patiently. The young Indonesian Ranger Bharata Timothy was wearing his fatigues suggesting he had been working out while Captain Martin Sterling was dressed in a fighter pilot's jumpsuit. Most likely he'd just returned from flight patrol. Beside them, Erik and Ella waited in their normal duty uniforms. The Blue Ranger was looking a bit disappointed while the Pink Ranger held a plastic container of food in her hands.

As they rejoined the team, Caldwell turned and gave a curt nod, "All right everyone. We've got another little situation brewing. It seems the Xenos are launching another raid."

"How can that be sir? Wouldn't the orbital guns just shoot them out of the sky before they came close?" Bharata asked curiously.

The older general nodded, "Normally yes... however, it seems the enemy is using different tactics to slip past our defenses."

He gestured to the holographic map showing a view of the planet's orbital horizon, "Our guns are calibrated to lock onto larger warships and projectiles but the Xenos have launched a smaller transport pod that we cannot lock onto. Most likely they're using an electromagnetic cloaking field to jam our sensors until it's too late."

The map showed a fiery streak enter low orbit and fall toward the European continent, "We've just picked up an anomaly entering the atmosphere and headed toward the surface."

"Where are they headed General?" Ella asked.

Caldwell paced the room, "As best as we gather, it seems the Xeno spacecraft has crash landed on the outskirts of Prague in the Czech Republic. A company of U.N.A.F. troops has already been deployed to secure the area. I want Nova Squad to follow up and put down any potential threat."

Martin gave a smart salute and nodded toward his team, "Understood General. We'll see to it. Everyone, let's grab our gear and head for the transit platform."

"I'll be here in Ops standing by. Good luck Rangers," Lucy added as she gave the departing Rangers a wave.

After the Nova Rangers had left the room, General Caldwell glanced over and caught sight of the container of dessert that Ella had left behind on a nearby table. As she took a seat at her station, Lucy looked over and raised an eyebrow, "General? Is something wrong?"

"Not at all doctor," Caldwell smiled as he held up a piece of the pastry and gave it a once over, "I believe I just found myself some canolli."

* * *

Within the hour, the five Rangers of Nova Squad had donned their field equipment and gathered in the transporter room. After forming up on the base's primary transit platform, the squad was teleported away via the network of special satellites orbiting the planet. In a flash of light, the five young men and women found themselves instantly transported to the large green courtyard gardens of an old baroque style palace. Along one side of the horizon, the team could make out a tall forested hill with an observation tower in the distance while on the other side of the skyline was another tall hill with an old castle perched atop it.

"Rangers... welcome to the Mala Strana District of Prague," Lucy said as her voice came in over their comm link. "I've dropped you on the grounds of Wallenstein Palace which shouldn't be far from the crash site of the Xeno drop pod. I'm transmitting GPS data now."

Martin checked a handheld nav device and pointed toward the forested hill at the other end of the district, "All right, it looks like UN forces are converging on Petrin Hill. Erik and Bharata, I want you two to stay around here and keep an eye on the civilians. Erin and Ella, you're with me."

As the Red, Yellow, and Pink Rangers hurried off to rendevous with the allied forces, Erik and Bharata turned and left the gardens to patrol the cobblestone streets of the quiet district. They strolled past several shops while groups of local citizens cast uneasy looks toward Petrin Hill and gave the two Rangers a wide berth. After all, it wasn't every day they saw armed soldiers walking the streets. Still, the sights and sounds of the old historic city more than made up for it. While many cities had changed and taken on especially modern architecture, infrastructure, and aesthetics... several places like Prague in Eastern Europe insisted on retaining their older medieval heritage instead.

"Well sir, what now?" Bharata asked his older comrade.

Erik glanced around the row of shops and shrugged, "Well Bara, we'll still keep an eye out for trouble... but maybe we could do a little gift shopping here too. I didn't get a chance back at Atlantis Base earlier. Come on."

Bharata raised a curious eyebrow and followed his senior officer, "Ella did make a passing comment about you getting something for a girl."

"The most important one in my life," Erik nodded as they passed by a few shop windows, "It's for her birthday."

"Did you have anything particular in mind?" the Green Ranger asked as he idly fiddled with his assault rifle.

Erik stopped in front of a toy store where he saw a young man walk out with a large stuffed animal poking out of a box. "She likes cute things... I think I just got an idea."

"Huh... I'd probably opt for flowers or jewelry, but whatever you say..."

The two Rangers were immediately cut off as a loud explosion was heard nearby. The Blue and Green Rangers tensed up and saw smoke rising down the block along with a hazy cloud of yellow green gas that began to spread. As the two rushed to respond against the small crowd of fleeing civilians, Bharata radioed Martin, "Captain, we've got a situation here. Looks like a possible Xeno."

"Roger that Lieutenant. We're coming to help," the Red Ranger answered over the comm.

Erik led the way until they came to a bend in the street where the haze was markedly thicker and more concentrated. The strong horrible smell assaulted their senses and forced them to back off while coughing and choking. Despite the brief exposure to the gas, their eyes, nose, and throat felt a slight burning sensation.

"Ugh... what is this stuff? It smells horrible and I can barely breathe," the Green Ranger gagged.

Erik covered his mouth and looked in horror to see scores of civilians collapsed on the ground, barely breathing, "Poison gas maybe? We've got to get these civvies clear before they choke to death."

Over their comm, Lucy radioed in to him, "Lt. Dobermann, the rebreathers on your Ranger suits should be enough to protect you from this gas."  
After the two swiftly morphed, they charged into the fog and began carrying several civilians to safety. Bharata growled while Erik stopped to take a moment and examine them, "That's pretty low if the Xenos are going to use chemical warfare on us now."

Erik nodded as he finished checking the pulse of one of the victims. To his dismay, it was the young man who had walked out of the toy store carrying the stuffed animal. He was in bad shape and looked to be unconscious, but there was nothing more to be done at the moment. "Let's find out where that toxic gas is coming from and stop it."

"Uh sir... I don't think we'll have to look very far. I think it found us," Bharata replied as he pulled his blaster pistol and gestured to the dark silhouette of a large monstrous form emerging from the gas. Whatever it was, it certainly didn't come in peace.

Erik watched with trepidation as a hulking robotic creature with thick twin smoke stacks jutting out of its shoulders approached. As the Xeno stomped down the cobblestone street and smashed a parked car aside, more poisonous fumes radiated from its exhaust pipes. In a digitized voice, the creature spoke, "Nova Rangers... stand down or be eradicated with the rest of this city."

From his flank, several Xeno foot soldiers emerged from the poisonous fog with enhanced air filters on their helmets as they lined up and readied their own firearms.

"Oh... this is not good at all," Bharata muttered as he gripped his pistol and tried to look for some nearby cover.

Erik slowly drew his Nova Striker energy blade and ignited it while facing down the Xeno commander, "Sorry, I'm new around here. I don't think I quite speak your language."

The robotic battle droid leveled its arms where gas nozzles where affixed to the wrists. Clearly it didn't understand the sarcasm behind Erik's retort, "Failure to comply will result in your termination."

Bharata gulped and readied to fire his gun against the Xeno foot soldiers, "You aren't actually gonna try and take this guy on, are you Erik?"

The Blue Ranger gripped his blade and nodded, "If we don't these people will die. Now, let's help this Xeno kick his smoking habit. What do you say? Cover me!"

Bharata opened fire with his blaster while the Xeno troops returned with their own volley. Erik Dobermann charged forward with his vibro blade and deflected a few enemy shots before leaping high to set up a devastating downward slash. As he did the battle droid Cyanode raised its nozzle arms and expelled another cloud of toxic gas hoping that it would be enough to halt the blue Ranger.

As the superheated energy blade met the stream of gas, both combatants were blinded in a fiery explosion, sweeping aside the enemy foot soldiers and sending a forceful shockwave down the entire block. At that moment, it was anyone's guess what had happened and who exactly was left standing.


	6. For Hearth and Home

**Mission 2: Part 2  
**

When Erik Dobermann cracked his eyes open, he found himself laying in a hospital bed of a recovery ward. His head felt fuzzy and his body was a little sore but he seemed to be in one piece. A few monitors were hooked up to him monitoring his vitals which by the looks of it, all read normal. Sufficed to say, it was a bit odd and uncomfortable for a combat medic like him to be on the other side of the fence and being cared for.

"Hey! He's waking up!" Ella said as some of his fellow Rangers gathered around the bed.

"Ella? What happened?" he asked groggily.

Martin crossed his arms with a reproving frown, "What happened is you rushed in without backup and almost got yourself killed Dobermann. Luckily your Ranger suit protected you from that blast and Bharata pulled you to safety. We almost lost our team medic and I almost lost my XO."

Erik blinked and tried to sit up, "I... I'm sorry sir. There were scores of people being poisoned. I had to act."

The Green Ranger put out a hand and eased him down, "Easy does it big guy. That Xeno was driven off for now. When your blade triggered an explosion with the gas clouds, that blast damaged the alien's weapon systems. Fortunately the others were able to drive it off while I peeled you off the street."

"And the other civilians?" Erik asked in concern.

Ella gestured to the recovery ward where the victims lay, some in far worse shape than others. Nearby, Erin talked with a doctor, speaking in Czech before she came over and put a hand on the Blue Ranger's forearm. "Well... the good news is, aside from a mild concussion, you should be fine. They want you to stay here and rest for the remainder of the day."

"But the Xeno..." Erik protested, "What if he poisons other people in the city? I need to be there to help."

"You need to rest up so you can get back to duty tomorrow. That's an order Lieutenant." Martin said firmly before leading the others out, "We'll handle that alien if he shows his face in the mean time.

Erik sighed and simply lay his head back on his pillow. He hated the situation, but he knew he couldn't argue.

* * *

Early the next morning, Erik lay dozing in the hospital ward waiting for the doctor to come by and make his rounds when he awoke to the sounds of a patient getting wheeled in next to him. As he turned over and looked, he was shocked to see the face of the young man that he had passed at the toy store yesterday. The victim's face was covered in discolored splotches and he remained comatose while a distraught young woman and a little girl no older than five came to his bedside. Erik sat up and watched the family feeling pity as the little Czech girl tried several times to nudge her father's arm and wake him to no avail.

"Sad... isn't it?" came a voice speaking in German that made Erik jump.

The Blue Ranger turned to face the attending doctor who had come from the opposite side of the ward to watch the scene. He was a portly graying middle aged man with a kindly face. "I heard that man was on the way home to surprise his daughter with a gift for her birthday today. I'm glad his wife finally stopped crying though. That was hard to deal with"

Erik nodded and replied to the doctor in German, "Is he going to be alright?"

The physician grimaced and gave a shrug, "Well... that poison gas did a number on him and I can't make any guarantees, but he's stable and should get better. I understand he and several other poison victims here owe you their lives from yesterday."

Erik remained fixed in place watching the family feeling a great swell of sympathy and pity for them along with a growing anger at the aliens who had attacked yesterday. It always pained him to see suffering people. He was a Ranger and a combat medic, whose job it was to protect life, first and foremost. While saving wounded comrades in the heat of battle was never an easy job, being unable to help innocent civilians from getting hurt was even worse. He grunted and rolled out of bed, pulling off his monitors, "I appreciate the care Doctor, but if it's all the same to you... I'd really like to go and get back to my unit."

"Under the circumstances, I think that's a good idea. Good luck out there son," the doctor nodded as he wrote up a discharge paper for the Blue Ranger. Erik took the slip and walked over toward the grief stricken woman and child.

As he stopped by the unconscious father, he grimaced and looked to the girl, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry this happened to your father. In a way, I think I'd understand how you'd feel. If I was in his shoes..."

The little girl hid behind her mother's skirt as Erik raised a calming hand and spoke gently toward the child. He wasn't sure if she or her mother even understood him, but he wanted the intent to come across, "I promise you that I'll get the monster who did this and I'll do everything I can to help make him well again."

He smiled and gestured to the Nova morpher around his wrist before offering a hand. The child took his hand and gave it a little squeeze along with the mother who nodded in return. With that, Erik Dobermann rose to his feet and turned to the doctor, "Okay... which way to the locker rooms? I need to get my gear."

* * *

Meanwhile on the other side of the city, the other four Nova Rangers patrolled the northwestern castle district with a Russian platoon of UNAF marines. As they walked, General Caldwell radioed in over their comms, "Rangers, we're picking up enemy activity flaring up across the river in the Old Town District. You should be able to get there across the great Charles Bridge nearby."

"We're on it General," Martin nodded as he waved his team and the other marines forward, "Nova Squad, let's go!"

As they hurried down the streets, Erin frowned, "I don't get it. The Xeno drop pod landed far southwest of here. How the hell did they get all the way over there on the other side of the city?"

The Russian platoon leader of the marines thumbed off the safety switch of his rifle, "We've been trying to track them since yesterday. We're guessing they've been using the city's underground sewer tunnels."

"Well, considering Erik blew half of them up yesterday, there can't be too many left," Bharata muttered grimly as the troops neared the large medieval bridge connecting the two central halves of the city. Lining the bridge were large statues of Christian saints and ornamental designs but the Rangers didn't have a lot of time to admire them as a storm of laser fire erupted from the other side of the bridge. Smoke and concrete sprayed everywhere as two marines were hit and crumpled to the ground.

"Get down! Return fire!" Martin barked as the Rangers and their allied troops ducked down along the walls of the bridge and fired back at the alien foot soldiers blocking their path. Ella squeezed off a few shots before she and Bharata scrambled over to pull the two downed allies to safety. As the laser fire intensified they saw one of the marines had been killed outright with a shot to the torso while the second marine moaned from a terrible scorch wound on his thigh.

"Captain Sterling, I'm detecting unusual air quality readings coming from the Old Town District," Lucy called in over the radio, "It may be coming from that alien field commander you battled the other day."

"We'd love to get over there Luce but we're a little pinned down right now," Martin shouted over the din of the battle.

As another spray of enemy fire raked the bridge, the Russian marine commander looked to the Rangers, "What do we do now? We cant get close enough to lob grenades and we can't risk using high yield explosives on the bridge either."

The Red Ranger growled to himself before reaching for his morpher, "Lucy, get Erik on the line. If he's back on his feet, we're going to try a new plan."

* * *

Erik dashed through the winding streets of Prague using his own GPS navigator while prepping his morpher. He made his way north along the river from the New Town district to help his comrades who were pinned down on the other side of the city's central bridge. If they could hold out, he intended to surprise the enemy troops from behind and open a path for the Rangers to cross. "I'm almost there Dr. Beckett. Stand by."

The Blue Ranger pushed past some cowering civilians and came across a platoon of Xeno troops barring their side of the bridge and pinning the UN forces down. Erik ducked behind a wall and quickly morphed, before drawing both his weapons and sending a signal to his fellow Rangers. "Nova Squad, I'm in position. Prepare to counterattack."

With that, Erik turned the corner and charged into the enemy troops with a flying leap, catching them completely by surprise. A Xeno soldier collapsed as he was cut down from behind while Erik fired his blaster point blank and dropped two more adversaries. As the rest of the alien platoon scrambled in frightened disarray from the wrath of the big German Ranger, the other Rangers rose up and morphed while charging forward across the bridge. As the Blue Ranger kicked aside an enemy and grabbed another one, he tossed the Xeno trooper off the bridge just as his friends rushed in and broke the rest of the enemy ranks.

While the UN troops surged forward and secured the bridgehead, Erik turned as Martin gave him a nod. "Nice work Lieutenant! Good to see you back on your feet."

"Glad to be back sir. Dr. Beckett told me there's a little gas leak in the Old Town District?"

Martin waved the team past the gates, "You heard right. Marines, secure this point and hold your position."

As Erik led the way into the oldest district of the city, the Rangers came across the familiar haze of poisonous fog from the Xeno field commander they had faced. They pushed ahead, protected by their suits and the oxygen filters in their helmets until they reached the central square of the district overshadowed by a gothic cathedral and an ornate astronomical clock tower. Standing in the square was the Xeno commander Cyanode.

The battle droid showed scorched armor plating and damage to its smoke stacks sustained from the explosion the other day, but it continued to belch occasional puffs of toxic gas while firing random energy blasts at surrounding buildings. A blast of laser fire struck the Xeno in its torso and staggered it as the Rangers confronted it. Erik gripped his smoking pistol and growled, "You've caused enough suffering you monster. I'm not going to let you go any further!"

Cyanode trained its sensor eyes on the Ranger and turned its weapon arms on him, "Human Rangers. Prepare for termination."

Erik cocked his pistol and turned to the others but Martin caught him by the shoulder, "Hold it Lieutenant. You're not rushing in again like that, are you?"

"No sir," Erik replied with a smile, "I learned my lesson. Let's take this guy together."

Martin nodded and turned to the Green Nova Ranger as they tumbled out of the way of a concentrated smoke jet. "Bharata, scan that thing. It's gotta have some weak point we can exploit."

Erik waited as Bharata scanned the enemy and transmitted tactical data to the teams HUD's. He saw that the Xeno's smoke stacks had been blown open leaving wide gaps which gave him an idea. The Blue Ranger reached for his morpher and radioed Atlantis Base, "Dr. Beckett, I need your crew to transport two thermal grenades to me as fast as you can. Rangers, I've got a plan, but I need time."

Martin nodded and charged his blaster, "All right everyone, covering fire. Keep your distance from that Xeno and don't let yourself get demorphed."

As the other Rangers darted about, circling the droid and distracting it with laser fire, Erik maneuvered behind the enemy and smiled when he heard Lucy's voice call out, "Lieutenant Dobermann, stand by for transport!"

In a flash, Erik gripped two high powered thermal grenades in his hand and he armed them. Once he had a clear line, he sprinted forward through the toxic haze and jumped up to stuff the grenades into the monster's smoke stacks. As the Blue Ranger rolled clear, he called out to Erin nearby and waved his hand, "Erin, I need your gun!"

The Yellow Ranger nodded and tossed her pistol which Erik caught and immediately set to overcharge mode. While a confused Cyanode spun around and thrashed, having realized someone had tagged him with foreign objects, Erik knelt and leveled the guns on his target. The Blue Ranger pulled the triggers and unloaded a twin supercharged laser bolt which struck the Xeno's smokestacks. As the blasts struck home, the grenades detonated resulting in a terrific explosion which rocked the entire plaza.

Every Ranger was knocked off their feet and rolled to a stop, watching as a crater was left where the droid had stood. As small debris rained down, the scorched hips and lower legs of the battle droid remained and clattered to the ground in a mangled heap. To everyone's relief, the sheer blast of the monster's destruction had swept away the better part of the toxic gas, leaving the rest to be dissipated by the wind.

"All right! Way to go Erik!" Ella cheered excitedly as she rushed over to help Erik up and pat him on the back. "That was awesome."

Erik chuckled and nodded to Erin as he handed her pistol back to her, "Thanks for the assist... all of you."

Although no one could see it behind the helmet, Martin gave a proud smile, "Well done Erik. That was some quick thinking."

"I'll say. I've never seen you so determined to waste a Xeno before," Bharata said as he clapped his comrade's shoulder.

The Blue Ranger paused a shook his head, "Yeah... This one was personal. I uh... had a promise to keep."

After a moment, he turned to Martin and cleared his throat, "Sir? Before we head back to base, permission to make two more stops... starting with the hospital. I'd like to visit one of the victims from yesterday."

Martin blinked in confusion before nodding, "Sure. What about the second stop?"

"I uh... I'd like to stop at a toy shop, Captain."

* * *

The next day, the Rangers returned to Atlantis Base and headed to the Command Tower for debriefing with General Caldwell. After giving a preliminary report to Caldwell, Erin glanced over and smiled as she saw the giant stuffed teddy bear still hanging under Erik's arm.

"I was meaning to ask Erik, were you doing some souvenir shopping? Or are the Czechs known for teddy bears or something?"

The Blue Ranger smiled and shook his head, "No. Actually, I was getting a little birthday gift for my daughter Sarah. It's coming up later this week and she's turning five."

"Aww, you have a little girl?" Ella exclaimed, "Now it all makes sense!"

Erik hefted the bear and gave a sheepish look to General Caldwell, "Err, sorry about all this sir. I didn't have any time to mail it off before we returned to base."

Caldwell gave a kind chuckle and waved it off, "Quite all right Lieutenant. While we're on the subject of contraband, I was also curious to know who had left behind that container of canolli a few days ago."

Everyone exchanged a look as the general opened up a shelf and produced the container of baked goods.

"I'm sorry sir, that was my doing," Ella said in embarrassment as she took it back and looked inside, "I... oh, wait! It looks like a few of these went missing!"

"Ah... I'm sorry about that Lieutenant," Caldwell said as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I couldn't help myself and tried a few. I thought the pastry you made was delicious."

Erik stared incredulously at the general while Ella handed the remaining food over to Martin, "Captain, I made these just for you. Since I'm still kinda new here, this would be my way for you to get to know me and my culture a little better."

Martin eyed her carefully before pulling out a canolli stick, "Um... thank you Ella. That's very thoughtful of you."

Erik tried to warn his CO, but he was too slow as Martin took a big bite and shuddered. He watched as the Red Ranger kept a straight face and chewed slowly before swallowing. As a fellow Special Forces Airman, Erik knew the look of a man trying to mask quiet suffering when he saw it. Finally Martin cleared his throat, "Thank you again Ella. I think I'll finish the rest later. Everyone... you're dismissed."

"Sir, are you sure? You don't need anything else... medical aid perhaps?" Erik began but Martin quickly held up a hand.

"No. No... thank you Erik. That will be all. Dismissed."

Erik shrugged and walked out the door with the younger Rangers while Ella proudly nudged him in the shoulder, "See, I told you he'd like my cooking."

Once they were out of earshot, Martin turned to Lucy and handed her the dessert container, "Come on Lucy. Let's head back over to your lab. There's something I'd like you to do for me."

Dr. Beckett adjusted her glasses and gave a curious look, "Oh? What's that?"

"I'd like you to see if there's a way for us to weaponize this canolli. I think it's got some potential as a biological weapon and if we set aside those pesky Geneva Conventions, I'll bet it could kill the Xenos dead."

* * *

Later that day after dinner, Erik Dobermann returned to his tidy bedroom quarters where the orange glare of early evening sunlight filtered in from the windows. He sat down at his desk and pushed aside some paperwork before turning on his computer and keying in a few commands. He waited for several long moments until finally, a chime was heard and his video call back home to Munich Germany was patched through. The image of his mother appeared on the other end and in her lap sat a cute four year old girl. The little girl had shining brown eyes and sandy colored hair like her mother. She wore them in pigtails and the girl gave a delighted smile when she saw Erik's image on the screen before squealing, "Papa!"

"Hi Sarah! How's my little girl?" Erik grinned as he spoke to her in German.

She touched the screen and waved, "Papa, I miss you! Are you coming home for my birthday?"

Erik sighed and sadly shook his head with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry sweetheart. I wish I could. There's a lot going on and I need to be here at the base right now."

Erik's mother stroked Sarah's hair gently and kissed her on the head, "Your papa is helping to take care of all the soldiers who are protecting us dear. Remember?"

"I know," Sarah nodded in disappointment, "I just wish he could come."

Erik touched the screen, "I know kiddo. I promise I'll come home again soon and I'll make it up to you too. I sent you a nice birthday present in the mail."

"Really? What is it?"

Erik laughed, "I can't tell you. You'll just have to wait and be a good girl for grandpa and grandma. Do you think you can do that for me?"

Sarah nodded while Erik's mother cocked her head and looked at her son, "Erik dear... is something wrong?"

The Blue Ranger sat silently for a moment and thought about the little Czech girl in the hospital who almost lost her father to the poison gas. He couldn't help but think if the roles were reversed and if that had been him. He worried again how Sarah would handle any news if something ever happened to him... especially now that he was a Ranger with a very real risk of dying in combat. He took a breath and shook his head, "It's nothing Mom... I was just... I was thinking about how much I wanted to tell Sarah that I love her right now."

His daughter smiled and bounced in her seat, "I love you too! Hey Papa, while you're here can I tell you about all the fun things I want to do with you next time you come back?"

Erik reclined in his seat and smiled, "Of course. Tell me. I set aside all evening just for you."

He knew his daughter would certainly talk his ear off, but in that moment of seeing his family and being reminded of what he was fighting for, all night didn't seem too long at all.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Although this series has a relatively more serious tone with people actually getting hurt and dying, I think it's important to balance that with hopeful moments of family and friendship. After all, that theme is a cornerstone of the Power Rangers genre right? Hope you enjoyed it and thanks again for reading!**


	7. Purely Academic

**Mission 3: Part 1  
**

The dim lights of the chemical vats pulsed while Warmaster Hellspont watched new tubes be inserted with freshly synthesized proteins. He crossed his arms and sniffed toward one of the head Xeno Machina technicians. "Isn't there a way to speed this process up?"

The Xeno servitor who monitored the vats was a freakish humanoid amalgamation of organic body parts and mechanical science equipment who turned to his superior and focused a bionic eye, "Creating a fresh batch of artificial soldiers will take some time sir. Their metabolism and body processes have to reach stable levels before we can prepare them for direct combat."

The two paced deeper into the hellish laboratory filled with biomechanical experiments and rows of birthing tubes with which the Xenos created their new soldiers. Hellspont passed several nightmarish experiments without breaking stride or paying much mind to a convulsing subject on the table who was being given cybernetic implants, "These new humanlike soldiers we've been using… they resemble the Terrans… flawed and soft."

The Xeno scientist shook his bionic head, "In resemblance Warmaster, but these Eidolon soldiers have superior genetic enhancements and bionic implants to make them stronger, faster, and more adaptable than the mindless battle drones we used to use."

Hellspont stopped and examined a row of nearly matured male and female clone warriors in their tubes. It was true that they had proven far more effective in battle against the human soldiers of Earth who had always had the advantage of being more flexible and adaptable. Unlike the battle drones of roboticized humanoids who acted as a mindless collective and relied on overwhelming force, these new soldiers had been able to improvise and adapt to a greater degree by using tactics and discipline that were until now, unheard of among the Xeno Machina forces. They were still unable to halt those new Nova Rangers, but the Eidolon soldiers were a good match for any well trained UNAF soldiers and that was progress.

The Warmaster turned on his heel and waved his arm, "Give me a list of your newest experiments. I might as well plan another raid while we wait for the new troops to be produced."

The freakish technician bowed and turned back toward the rows of lab tables while the moans and cries of tortured test subjects echoed through the gruesome chambers.

* * *

The sounds of a computer database program whirred from a laptop as Lt. Erin Reilly paced about one of the large airy study rooms of Atlantis Base paging through a book of Cryptography. While she busily skimmed the pages, the young Irish woman hummed a quiet song to herself as the laptop scanned through several records to try and make connections to some of the salvaged Xeno gear she had borrowed from Dr. Beckett's lab. Ever since the battle in Paris, France Erin had become intrigued with the idea that a possible connection existed between the alien script of the hostile Xeno-Machina and the benevolent Adventi aliens whose recovered technology had helped the people of Earth advance their capabilities even further.

Whenever she had set her mind to something, Erin had always doggedly pursued it even when she was younger. Because she came from a family of high achieving academics and showed signs of prodigious linguistic skills early on, she decided she'd approach this same problem as she would any other during her years of studying: aggressively but methodically.

While she worked, she set down the book and consulted another data pad until she was interrupted by the whoosh of the study room door opening. She glanced over and saw her teammate, the Green Nova Ranger Bharata Timothy. The young Indonesian man had dressed down to some green sportswear civilian clothes and sported some sports goggles instead of his normal glasses. He greeted her with a cheerful wave, "Erin! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

The Yellow Ranger raised an eyebrow and gave a slightly amused smile, "Oh?"

"Yeah, the rest of us wanted to know if you wanted to come join us in the West End for a game of Solar Frisbee."

Erin grimaced, "Oh, I don't know Bara. I've got a lot of work here and I'm trying to make some headway with these glyphs"

Bharata put a cajoling hand on her shoulder and tried to pull her away from the work, "Ah, your research isn't going anywhere. Come on. It's our day off and we even convinced Captain Sterling to come play. Erik had to spend all morning twisting his arm over breakfast."

Erin bit her lip, "Geez. I don't know… I mean, it all sounds fun but…"

Both Rangers were interrupted as the Nova morphers around their wrists chimed and Martin's voice came through, "Sorry everyone but I think we'll have to put Solar Frisbee on hold today. I just got a call from General Caldwell for a new mission."

Erin pouted in disappointment as she closed her laptop and paused her work while Bharata gave a glum sigh at having their rec time cut short. With that, they headed out the study room door and made ready to report for duty.

* * *

Back on the Xeno-Machina flagship based on the moon, Warmaster Hellspont sat at his command chair on the bridge, eying a data tablet before the field commander he had summoned approached from one of the side hatches. The Xeno was a lean biomechanical humanoid with light armor plating grafted over the skin of its body. Unlike many of the heavily armed and armored Xeno warriors, this one was more of a scout used for infiltration, spying, and stealth missions.

As Hellspont studied the newest creation from the labs, he noticed the most striking feature of this enhanced operative. The Xeno wore a sturdy helmet with thick metal grates over the face mask, except in the eight face slits where eyes in each spot. They were clearly organic eyes, but enhanced with Xeno-tech to increase their function. As it approached the command chair, it stopped and lowered its head to speak in a low raspy voice, "Reporting for duty Warmaster."

Hellspont smirked and nodded as he reclined in his chair, "Good. I've selected you for a very important task. I've received some intelligence that suggests an Adventi outpost has been unearthed on the planet. If it contains any more data that can help the humans defend themselves, I would like you to go and destroy that place."

The Xeno scout tilted its head and blinked several eyes, "I don't understand. How were you aware of this? Our forces have been stuck here on the moon."

The Warmaster chuckled, "My last raiding parties have been busy. In addition to the attacks I ordered, I had them set up equipment on the surface to intercept some of the communications of the Terrans. As long as they don't find those listening posts, we can continue to spy on them."

The Xeno bowed its head and turned to leave the bridge, "If that is your wish, I will carry it out then Warmaster."

As he left, Hellspont turned in his chair and looked out toward the viewport of the ship, "See that you do."

* * *

A beam of light flashed down upon the sandy dessert as Earths' orbital relay assembly teleported the five Nova Rangers from Atlantis Base to a campsite near the United States-Mexican border. As the light faded, the five Rangers put on their sunglasses and field patrol caps to reduce the glare of the hot dessert sun. As they got their bearings, Dr. Lucy Beckett radioed the team from Atlantis Base Operations and sent them updated navigational data.

"Welcome to Mexicali, Rangers. The archeological dig site shouldn't be far from the scientists' campsite. I've already notified Dr. Guzman of your arrival and he should be with you shortly."

"Thanks Luce. We'll check in again with you once we get situated," Martin answered before ending the transmission. He looked north around the arid rocky landscape of Baja California in Mexico and sighed. "To think… America is just a little further north of here. I miss home already."

Erin smiled and shrugged before casting her gaze out toward some rocky uplands just south of them, "Cheer up Captain. If the intel that Caldwell gave us is true, we've got a really exciting assignment here. Can you imagine what we could find in a buried Adventi outpost?"

Erik nodded and checked his own nav equipment, "Actually, it wouldn't be too far of a stretch. The original Adventi spacecraft that was found a few decades ago was dug up in the Mojave Dessert further north of here."

At that moment, the whole squad turned their attention toward a strong-looking middle aged Hispanic man wearing khaki field clothes and an orange bandana. He wore a small backpack with dig equipment poking out and he gave a friendly smile while extending a hand, "Hi! Welcome to Camp Baja! You must be the Power Rangers!"

Martin stepped forward and shook the archeologist's hand, "Yes sir. I'm Captain Martin Sterling, and this is my team. Erik, Bharata, Erin, and Ella."

The Hispanic scientist smiled and nodded, "And I'm Dr. Emilio Guzman, from the University of Mexico City. It's an honor to be able to meet a team of Rangers. I've heard a little about your battles in Europe so I have no doubt this will be the safest campsite in the desert. Come with me. I'll show you around."

After a quick tour of the base camp, Dr. Guzman escorted the five Rangers toward a small rocky upland just a short walk away. "We've been digging here for a while just on the outskirts of Laguna Salada and were surprised when we came across a place dug into the hills which shared some similarities with the extraterrestrial discovery in the Mojave. We have reason to believe the place we found is Adventi in origin."

"I wonder if our Ranger gear would get a reaction there," Bharata mused thoughtfully as they walked, "After all, our suits and weapons were engineered from that tech as well."

"I can't wait to get in the shade," Ella mumbled as she wiped her brow, "It's a bit too hot out here for me."

Erin hefted her gear and hurried to walk alongside Dr. Guzman, excited at the chance to talk to a fellow academic and exercise her curosity. "Dr. Guzman, do you have any theories as to why the Adventi might be here in Mexico?"

Guzman shrugged, "Hard to say. I imagine that maybe some of the spaceship crew who survived the crash traveled south here and set up a place to live?"

"If that's true, can you imagine how much more data we could collect? Maybe they'll have things we didn't discover in the wreckage of their ship. Maybe…"

"Maybe you should just calm down and take a few breaths first Lieutenant," Martin said with a gentle grin, "It's better that we don't jump to conclusions either. Caldwell's orders were to help investigate the site and secure it for the authorities."

After a short walk through the dry rocky terrain, the Rangers came to a dig site in the hills where several workers were already busy helping to excavate the area. A passageway had been carved out of the rocky hills and went deeper inside, inspiring all the Rangers to wonder what secrets lay further in the darkness. Dr. Guzman picked up a shovel and a lantern flashlight before waving the group inside. "I'll show you some of the chambers we unearthed. It seems there's some alien tech built into the place that you might be interested in."

After lighting the lantern, the Rangers pulled out their own flashlights and followed the archeologist inside past a rocky hallway. Once inside the structure, the place opened up into a large multi-chambered dwelling. Dr. Guzman swept his light around and led the way, "It's interesting. The interior in many ways is reminiscent of the insides of some ziggurat temples found in central and southern Mexico. It almost makes you wonder whose architecture influenced who."

As the group passed some walls, they were surprised as some of the walls and walkways lit up with a soft ambient blue light. Most likely, it was reacting to the presence of the ambient energy fields coming from the Nova morphers.

"Whoah… cool," Bharata exclaimed as he walked over to several metallic wall panels that lit up around the edges.

"That's not all," Dr. Guzman smiled as he led them across the room to a console jutting out of a wall. It almost seemed to resemble some makeshift alien workstation. Martin looked around carefully, "Doctor, do you know where the energy source for this is coming from?"

Guzman shrugged and shook his head, "I haven't the slightest idea. We haven't excavated too deeply in here yet so it may take time."

The Red Ranger nodded, "Bharata, I want you to scan some of these nearby rooms and try to figure out what is making this place tick. Erik, you and I are going to do a sweep to make sure this whole compound is secure."

"Captain, do you mind if I take a crack at that computer console?" Ella asked hopefully, "Maybe I can try to figure out how to access the place's systems, or datalogs."

Martin nodded, "Good idea. Erin, maybe you should help Ella out with that Adventi script. Hopefully you can extract something new or interesting."

"Yes sir!" Erin grinned enthusiastically as she and the Pink Ranger headed to the console and began to work.

While the three got to work, Martin and Erik gripped their portable rifles and prepared to do a security sweep when the sounds of panicked voices and fearful cries echoed through the caverns. The two oldest Rangers looked to each other and began rushing for the exit when they saw Dr. Guzman running with them.

"Stay back Doc. This might be too dangerous for you," Erik began but the archeologist waved him off, "No. This is my expedition and my responsibility. I'm coming with and that's final."

The Red and Blue Rangers exchanged a grimace before Martin nodded, "Fine. Let us take point then. You need to keep your head down and try to stay out of danger."

The three hurried to the narrow entryway leading outside when they came across a chilling sight. Sprawled out along the entrance halls were several members of the dig team. Blood had been splayed on the walls and the mangled remains of some of the diggers lay in the dirt where they had been killed. Erik gasped and slapped a fresh battery pack into his laser rifle. "What the... what the hell happened here?"

Martin signaled for silence and kept his rifle trained on the entrance before Dr. Guzman shouted from behind, "Look! On the ceiling!"

Both Rangers looked up just in time to see Hellspont's new long-limbed Xeno scout drop from the ceiling and reveal itself from its holographic stealth mode. It reared up in a spider crawl position and turned its head, blinking its eight eyes to intimidate the Rangers. Martin and Erik gasped before opening up with automatic laser fire. The las bolts tore up the entire hallway as the Xeno charged forward, returning fire from a hand cannon it was armed with. Despite taking several hits, the Xeno scout plowed ahead with a malicious laugh and bowled the Rangers over. He surged deeper into the tunnel but not before firing one more shot and striking Dr. Guzman full on, burning a hole through his torso.

Erik rolled over and saw the archeologist was dead before charging after the Xeno. Martin reached for his morpher and signaled the rest of the team, "Everyone! We've got a hostile Xeno coming your way!"

As they all burst into the main chamber, Erin and Ella were just looking up and scrambling for their weapons as Bharata was returning from an antechamber off to the side. The Green Ranger gasped in shock as the monstrous eight eyed scout blew past him while trying to escape. Erik charged toward the antechamber leveling his weapon, "Let's corner him here! Lock and load!"

Amid the confusion, Erin glanced over to the computer equipment she and Ella had set up to try and interface with the compound. As she saw Adventi glyphs filtering through, she caught a few familiar words: Energy, Wall, Activate. Seeing her teammates in danger, she grabbed the interface and keyed in several commands to activate what she believed to be force fields within the outpost to hopefully trap the Xeno.

All the combatants stopped and stared in awe as the lights of the compound flickered a moment and several solid force field barriers made of energy sprung to life, walling off the doorways. In the moment of confusion, the monstrous Xeno scout fired a blaster shot which clipped Bharata in the side and glanced off his flak vest. The wounded Green Ranger fell backwards to the ground as the Xeno tried to charge and ran headfirst into the force field that now activated.

"Bara! Hang in there buddy. I've got you," Erik cried in alarm as he rushed to his comrade and pulled him aside to administer first aid.

"Bastardo!" Ella fumed as she angrily raised her assault rife and aimed it at the Xeno to get revenge for her comrade. Martin immediately pushed the rifle back down.

"No! Hold your fire Ella! Not on the force field. For all we know, your las bolts will ricochet off and hit us instead."

"But Captain, that thing hurt Bharata!" Ella protested before she finally relented and lowered her weapon.

Martin turned and looked sharply to Erin, "What happened Lieutenant? What did you do?"

The Yellow Nova Ranger sputtered for a moment before regaining her composure, "I... I tried to help, sir. I thought maybe if we raise some force fields, we could trap the Xeno."

"Oh he's trapped all right," Martin nodded grimly before heading over to the main door leading out of the compound. He tapped it lightly a few times and found his gloved finger repulsed by the energy barrier, "And it looks like all of us are trapped here too. Can you drop the force field?"

Erin hurriedly looked to the laptop and tried a few keystrokes before nervously shaking her head, "I... I'm sorry sir. These command codes are all still a little too complex for me."

The Red Ranger blew out a long breath trying to focus through his frustration and growing fear of their bad situation. He glanced over to where Erik was working to treat the wounded Bharata, then toward the snarling Xeno in the next room who cackled and pounded at the barrier to taunt them.

Turning to the Pink Ranger, he said, "Ella try to get a signal out to Atlantis Base and see if they can help. Then I'm going to need your programming expertise to try and work the compound's systems."

"What about me?" Erin asked tentatively. While she did come up with a temporary solution to their problem, she was also feeling a little guilty for possibly creating another one.

"You're going to translate system commands for Ella and get us out of this mess," Martin answered giving a serious look as he passed by her.

Erin watched as he moved to stand guard by the other doorway before she bit her lip and looked to her own datapad. Just like on her first day of action in Paris, the young Yellow Ranger felt that she was in over her head and wondered if her talents would even be enough to ensure the safety of her team. Right now, everyone would be counting on her and she had a growing dread she just might let everyone down.


	8. Lost and Found

**Mission 3: Part 2  
**

Erin Reilly sat back on a stone slab and tiredly blew aside a strand of her brunette hair while she toggled through her datapad. It had been a couple hours since the Rangers had found themselves trapped in the underground compound and walled off by the built-in Adventi force fields. After several unsuccessful tries, Ella had determined that being underground and the electromagnetic interference from the energy barriers were distorting their distress signals and the team was unable to contact Atlantis Base.

At the moment, the Pink Ranger made herself busy on her laptop trying to navigate her way through the alien operating system of the compound where she plugged in. Erin had given her a translation program to help, but it was still running a bit slow. For the time being, all the team could do was wait and hope that Lucy or General Caldwell would send help.

Meanwhile, the trapped Xeno in the other room had backed away and stalked off to the far corner of the antechamber, being unusually quiet. Deciding to take a break, Martin walked over to where Erik was busy tending to the injured Green Ranger and giving him a pain killer. Bharata was propped up on some rucksacks and had a sterile dressing on his side over an energy weapon scorch. The Red Ranger knelt down and handed the younger Ranger his canteen of water before turning to his XO, "How is he Erik?"

The Blue Ranger wiped his brow, "Well, I stabilized the wound for now. Bara's lucky it was just a glancing blow and his flak vest helped reduce the damage. He should be okay, but he should really be treated back at the base."

"I'm sorry I got hit sir. I'm holding everyone down right now," Bharata sighed glumly.

Martin shook his head and put a surprisingly steadying hand on the younger Ranger's shoulder. "Don't apologize Bara. Just hang in there okay? I promise I'll do everything I can for you guys."

Bharata was taken aback by the Red Ranger's unusual show of open concern before nodding, "Yes sir. Thank you."

Across the room, Erin didn't pay much mind as she sorted through a few more pages of alien script and ambled over to another console in the wall. She gave a curious frown as she studied the glyphs and tried interfacing her datapad with it. As the new reams of information began to show up on her screen, her eyes went wide as she struggled to keep up. If she was seeing this right, she couldn't believe what she had found. "Everyone… I think I found something!"

"Is it a way out of here?" Erik asked curiously as he and Martin came to join her.

Erin shook her head, "No, but this could be just as big. I was tapping in to some of these systems and I think I found a huge backed up repository of Adventi data. I think Dr. Guzman may have been right. A few survivors from their ship must have set up a little base here and preserved what they could."

Martin stared at the cryptic alien script and frowned, "Do you understand what any of this says?"

The Yellow Ranger bit her lip, "Only bits and pieces. It looks like there's all sorts of stuff here. Some of it looks historical, there might be some journal entries and science notes, and it looks like there might even be some technical engineering manuals. I'm sure Dr. Beckett would have a field day with this stuff."

Erin's exuberance and excitement was cut short as the compound's lights flickered and turned to an ominous reddish color. Ella gave an alarmed shout from her own corner of the room and looked up from her laptop which was interfaced with a nearby wall panel. "Uh… guys? I think we have a pretty big problem!"

The others rushed over and gathered around the Pink Ranger. Erik put a hand on her shoulder and tried to peek at the monitors, "What's wrong Ella?"

The Pink Ranger took a moment to steady her breathing, "If I'm reading this right, it looks like another entity has patched in and interfaced with the compound's systems. It's activated a slow self destruct sequence for the outpost.

A fearful silence fell over the room as the Rangers exchanged worried looks. Finally, Erin cleared her throat, "Are you kidding me? Who triggered that thing?"

Erik whirled around and spotted the trapped Xeno scout hiding in the far corner of the other room. As he neared the door, he saw a portable cable jack connecting the biomechanical monster to a console in the other room. Erik growled and drew his pistol, "You! You stupid bastard! Do you realize what you've done?"

The Xeno glanced over and chuckled in its dark raspy voice, "I'm setting us all free Rangers. My orders were to find and destroy this place. If I can wipe it out along the enemies of the Xeno Machina, then that's even better."

Martin clenched his fist and felt his stomach drop. His team was now trapped behind force fields with the entire place rigged to blow. With a grim look, he turned to the girls, "How much time do we have left?"

Erin glanced at the console and sucked in some air. "If I'm reading this right, we've got no more than ten minutes."

Martin nodded, "Okay, our primary objective is getting out of here. Ella, do you think you can bring down the barriers in time?"

The Pink Ranger stopped to do some mental calculations, "I don't think I have time to gain manual control, but I may be able to disable the systems. If I create a condensed data surge, it might temporarily disrupt the force field emitters. The problem is, I'm going to need to draw as much computing power from our field equipment as I can."

"Wait… what about the Adventi datalogs that I'm downloading right now?" Erin protested in horror, "We can't risk losing all that precious information!"

The Red Ranger grimaced, "It's not going to do us any good if we all get vaporized here. I'm sorry Erin."

"But sir…"

Martin fixed her with a hard look, "That's an order Lieutenant."

Erin growled in frustration before nodding her head and relenting. She knew it was the right thing to do, but she still hated the idea of losing all that data… valuable information that could help humanity even more in their struggle. She reluctantly handed over her computing devices to Ella letting the Pink Ranger hook them together and finish her work.

* * *

Soon enough, everything was ready and Erik moved to secure his patient. Bharata gave a tired but grim smile as he gripped his gear, "I hope this plan works. I already thought getting shot was the worst of my problems today."

Once they were set, everyone got in position to carry out their escape plan.

"Erik, get ready to pull Bharata out of here!" Martin shouted as he kept his blaster pistol trained on the Xeno, "Ella, once you drop the barrier, I want you and Erin to start running too."

"What about you sir?" the Pink Ranger asked in concern.

Martin morphed and turned his head toward the Blue and Green Rangers, "We don't have time. I'll be right behind you guys."

As he hoisted the injured Bharata up, Erik nodded and gave a thumbs up, prompting Ella to hit the keyboard and disable the barriers. Everyone held their breath for a moment as the energy force fields flickered and then dissipated. In the ensuing moments, a storm of activity resulted. Erik made a break for the exit while carrying his ally as Ella sprung from the console and grabbed her gear to make an escape.

The freakish Xeno scout sprung from the other room and tackled the morphed Red Ranger, even after taking a few direct hits from Martin's blaster fire. While they tangled against each other, Erin rushed to recover her own computer pad in hopes that she could upload a little more data. Amid the flashing lights of the compound, Erin saw the self destruct timer tick under three minutes and she hesitated to plug her datapad back in.

Across the room, she saw heard the Xeno Machina creature shriek as Martin rolled over on the ground and wounded it again with his Nova Striker energy blade. Before he could get another cut in, the monster clamped back down on his weapon arm and pinned it to the floor. The Ranger turned his head and shouted, "Erin! What are you waiting for? Get out of here! Now!"

The Yellow Ranger hesitated again and looked at her datapad before making up her mind and turning to help her comrade instead. To the Xeno's surprise, Erin grabbed her own Nova Striker and ignited it mid-charge while morphing herself. In a flash, she plowed into the surprised Xeno, leading with her shoulder and driving it into a nearby stone wall. Before the alien had any more time to react, Erin swiftly drove the searing energy blade straight into its torso and pinned it to the wall. The Xeno gave a horrible gurgling cry as its own oily blood spilled from its wound. With another howl, the alien thrashed and tried reaching up grab Erin, but the furious Yellow Ranger swiftly pulled her blade free and whirled around, decapitating it in a powerful finishing slash.

As the Xeno's eight biomechanical eyes went dim and its body slumped to the ground, Erin took a deep breath and deactivated her blade. She turned and extended a hand to help her commander to his feet. "Are you okay sir?"

Martin nodded and gave an impressed nod, "Thanks for the save Erin. That was a great job just now."

The Yellow Ranger smiled and gave a sheepish shrug, "Thank you sir. I'm just returning the favor from Paris. Now what do you say we get out of here?"

The two Rangers turned and sprinted down the rocky tunnel and out of the complex. As they emerged into the light of the early evening sun, they kept running to join their friends who had stopped and waited a good hundred fifty meters away. No sooner had the team been reunited, a deep rumble was heard and the five dove to the sand as a large explosion rocked the landscape. A small shockwave swept out along the ground and an enormous geyser of rocks and sand burst up from the surface of the desert followed by a big fireball.

A thick haze of smoke hung over the air as a rain of sand and rocky debris fell down on the prone Rangers while they rolled over on the ground. Once they comprehended the magnitude of that explosion, realization and relief set in that they were glad to be alive. While Erik and Ella sputtered from the clearing air, Dr. Beckett's worried voice came crackling in over their comms, "Nova Squad... Martin... anyone... this is Atlantis Base. Please respond."

As she was still morphed and protected by her helmet, Erin was the first to answer while laying back on the sand in relief, "We're here Dr. Beckett. Everyone is okay."

"What happened? Lucy asked in concern, "We completely lost radio and sensor contact with you for several hours. Now we picked up a massive power surge on your location. General Caldwell was about to send a platoon of Marines after you."

"It's a long story Luce," Martin cut in as he rose to his feet and surveyed the blasted terrain. "We had a little run in with the Xeno and got trapped by some force fields here. We'll need emergency transport home and a medical team ready at the base. Bharata is going to need some help here."

Dr. Beckett paused a moment before nodding behind her control panels, "Understood Captain. Stand by for emergency beam out."

As the transmission cut out, Erin glumly looked over to Ella who was doing a quick check of her computer gear that she brought along. She sat up and sighed toward her female comrade, "So do you have everything?"

The Pink Ranger nodded and gave a small smile, "I do, and then some. I've got a little something you might find interesting."

Erin blinked in surprise before tilting her head, "Really? What?"

Ella grinned and held up a data stick before offering it to the Yellow Ranger, "I managed to recover some of the new data that was stored in the compound's archives. I'd be a pretty bad tech if I didn't back up my own files, right?"

Erin took the data stick in shock before she burst into an overjoyed smile. The Yellow Ranger threw her arms around her friend and gave her a big hug while she laughed, "Ella Catalano, if I wasn't wearing this Ranger helmet, I'd kiss you right now."

Ella gave a kind hearted shrug, "Don't sweat it amica, (friend) I know you were upset about having to sacrifice your own data pad to the cause so I did the best I could."

Before any more words could be exchanged between the five, they were engulfed in a beam of light from above which locked on to their Nova morphers. In another flash, the Rangers were instantly transported away leaving the great smoldering crater in the deserts of Mexicali behind them.

* * *

After having been debriefed that evening, Erin Reilly sat by herself in the mess hall of the base early the next morning. She was dressed down in her civilian clothes, sipping a cup of tea and holding a data slate with the information that Ella had recovered for her. As much as she wanted to start looking at all the data, she refrained from doing so. Instead, her mind was elsewhere thinking about the poor innocent scientists who had been killed by that Xeno scout and how her team had narrowly escaped that death trap in the Adventi outpost.

The mess hall was still fairly empty and quiet at this hour, perhaps too quiet that she didn't even hear the person who walked up to join her at her table. "Mind if I join you Lieutenant Reilly?"

Erin looked up in surprise to see the kindly face of General Caldwell approach. In his hands were a cup of coffee and a large cinnamon bagel.

"Oh... sir! Of course!" Erin exclaimed scrambling to her feet and giving a quick salute.

"At ease Erin, it's too early in the morning and I'm much too tired to salute right now," the older officer chuckled while sitting down.

Erin nodded and sat back down, "Sir... I didn't expect you'd be up this early."

"Ah well... no rest for the wicked when you're the base commander I suppose," Caldwell shrugged while eating his breakfast, "I'm just as surprised. I thought I had given you and your team a week off after your ordeal. I didn't think you'd be at work."

Erin sheepishly shrugged "To be honest, I wasn't getting anything done. I had a lot on my mind."

Caldwell regarded her curiously and took a sip of coffee, waiting patiently for her to continue. Finally Erin relented, "Sir... I was thinking about what a disappointment it was that the Adventi outpost was destroyed and all that information was lost, along with a bunch of researchers."

"It was unfortunate, but there is some good that came out of it," Caldwell nodded, "Nova Squad survived and you recovered some of the alien records there."

"That's just it," Erin mumbled as she chewed her lip, "The events in the outpost have made me question myself a little. General... compared to the other members of my team, I sometimes feel like a weak link. I'm not as good as the other four when it comes to all the things that have to do with direct combat or being a soldier."

"Lieutenant, you're selling yourself a little short don't you think?" Caldwell answered patiently, "If you weren't exceptional, you wouldn't be here as part of the squadron."

Erin balled her fists and stared into her mug of tea, "Maybe so, but yesterday, I almost let the researcher side of me get the better of the soldier side of me. I know it's awful for me to say this... but for a minute back there... a very selfish minute, the only thing I could think about saving that data when I learned the place was going to blow. I didn't care about anything else and for a moment, I was willing to let the rest of the mission go to hell... to let my teammates down."

"Except you didn't," Caldwell replied while calmly taking another sip of coffee, "You did the right thing by sacrificing your own equipment to help disable the force fields, and you came to the aid of your friends when they needed you. Captain Sterling had praised you in his report saying that you had saved him and handled yourself exceptionally well in that battle too."

Erin stopped in surprise before gripping her mug, "Really? I guess you're right... I did do pretty well, didn't I?"

"I'd say you're going to be just fine Lieutenant," Caldwell nodded as he finished his bagel.

With that, Erin gathered her things and quickly rose to her feet. "Thank you for the wise words General... now, if it's okay with you I've got something important to do and it'll require the rest of the team... well, excluding Bharata for now."

"Oh? I thought I told the team to rest and recuperate."

"We are," Erin smiled, "Once the rest of my squad wakes up, I was going to see about organizing a little game of Solar Frisbee in the West End. I think I kinda owe them that one."

"Very well Lieutenant. See to it," Caldwell nodded as he gave a casual salute and watched her hurry out of the mess hall. As he turned back toward the large bright windows which filtered the morning light in, the general decided to take his time finishing his breakfast. The soldier side of him knew that it was time to get to work, but the selfish civilian side of him won out. Sometimes it was better to just stop and enjoy the feeling of a peaceful leisurely breakfast while admiring the sight of the rising sun.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday with your families!**


	9. Mind Over Matter

**Mission 4: Part 1  
**

The sounds of deep steady ocean waves recorded from an Atlantis Base weather post filled the training room as the Green Nova Ranger Bharata Timothy went about his martial arts movements. It had been several weeks since he had been wounded on a mission to an alien outpost in Mexico and now that he had fully recovered, he wanted to get back into form by doing something to focus his mind and body. To him, that activity had always been the Indonesian martial art of silat.

As sunlight filtered in from the windows of the room, Bharata moved slowly and methodically going through the fighting movements of the kata to demonstrate his poise, control, and balance. To him, his martial arts had always had a calming regenerative effect on his mind and he hoped it would do the same to help his body fully recover. On that particular day, his teammate and fellow Ranger Ella Catalano had come to join him in hopes of learning something new.

While Bharata continued to gracefully move as if in a meditative trance, Ella stood on the mats nearby trying to imitate his every move. Despite her best efforts, she was finding it a bit hard to keep up. Once Bharata had finished, he opened his eyes and found the Pink Ranger already walking up and handing him a water bottle. "Well Bara, I have no idea how you do it. For a guy who took a las bolt a few weeks ago, I can't keep with your moves."

Bharata smiled and took the bottle gratefully, "Don't worry Ella. Just stick with it. Once you get used to the basic movements, you can learn to do them without even thinking."

"Yeah, I noticed you were kinda in the zone there. You're not feeling any lingering pain or stiffness from the injury?"

The Green Ranger shook his head and walked over to where he kept a green towel. He wiped his brow with a smile and said, "Basuki Surya... the silat teacher who had raised me had once stressed a very important lesson when I was young. He said that endurance of mind can be more powerful than the endurance of the body. Doing these movements and focusing on the sounds of the waves has been a big help in my physical therapy."

As much as he hated to admit it, Bharata didn't have as strong a physical build compared to his fellow male Rangers on the team. Even worse, his relative skill and agility in martial arts really didn't do much to help him when modern combat often came down to firearms and laser weapons. That was where the focus and discipline of silat came in to compensate. That stillness of mind and hidden depth was what made Lieutenant Timothy a good intelligence officer and a soldier who could overcome those disadvantages yet still succeed.

"I'm glad to hear it then," Ella said with a supportive smile while she patted her friend's shoulder, "Hopefully things stay quiet so you can fully recover and..."

She was cut off as both of the Ranger's Nova Morphers began to beep signaling a call to General Caldwell's tower. Bharata chuckled and shrugged, "And it would seem you spoke to soon. Come on, let's see what insane plan the Xenos are up to now."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the district Erin Reilly stood in a weapons testing room of the base's R&D lab with Dr. Lucy Beckett. The two young women waited within in an elevated observation deck and watched as the Red and Blue Nova Rangers made last minute preparations below. The test room had already been reinforced with extra heavy steel walls and heat resistant plating, but as an added precaution the two men morphed into their Ranger suits.

As Lucy did some last minute calibrations to her sensors, another younger man in a military technician's uniform entered. He was a shorter man with a lean build, tanned skin, and light colored hair. He carried in a data slate and spoke distractedly while he entered, "Sorry I'm late Dr. Beckett. Here are the corrected calculations you wanted on those power amplifiers and..."

He stopped in surprise when he saw Erin and froze up, "Uh... hi."

Based on his accent, he sounded like an Australian and a quick glance at the service patch on the shoulder of his uniform confirmed as much. Lucy sighed and took the data pad, "Thank you Julian. Lieutenant, this is Julian Wilson one of my aides and probably the best technician I have. Julian, meet the Yellow Nova Ranger Lt. Erin Reilly."

"Oh wow! It's an honor to finally get to meet you ma'am," Julian exclaimed with a star-struck expression as he shook her hand.

"The pleasure's mine sergeant. Thank you," Erin answered politely trying to extricate her hand after an extended moment of handshaking.

"Oh... sorry," Julian said sheepishly as he let go.

Lucy rolled her eyes slightly and cleared her throat, "Julian... don't you have some more devices to start cataloguing?"

The younger aide glanced to Erin, then gave a hopeful look toward the other Rangers down below in the test area, "Yes, but can I please just stick around and observe the tests on the new modifications for the Rangers? We all put a lot of work in on them."

Lucy eyed the younger tech with an inscrutable look before finally relenting, "All right. Please just stand back and let me finish this last diagnostic?"

"Sure! Thanks Dr. B!" Julian said excitedly before giving Erin another polite nod and giving the two girls some room on the balcony.

While Martin made a final check of his Nova Morpher down below, Erik readied a Xeno blaster spear in his hand. The spear was standard issue to the enemy infantry and served as both an effective melee weapon and blaster at the same time. As Martin took his place at one end of the room, Erik faced him from a short distance and leveled the spear in blaster mode.

From the observation deck, Lucy spoke into a microphone while checking her data monitors, "All right you two, all systems are go up here. Once you're ready, we can start the field test."

Erik gave a nod and charged the blaster spear before turning to the Red Ranger.

"Okay Erik, I'm sure you've always wanted to take a few shots at your C.O. before, right?" Martin said as he pressed another button on his morpher.

"Only you sir," the Blue Ranger joked while giving a laugh, "But just think... if you do wind up getting shot, at least I'll be right here to give you first aid."

"Then I'll pray that your aim isn't as bad as your jokes Lieutenant," Martin quipped dryly as Erik laughed loudly again.

Moments later, a small circular dome of glowing blue translucent energy began to radiate from Martin's Nova Morpher and it formed a round battle shield. As Martin raised the personal shield up, he braced himself while Erik fired several energy blasts from the Xeno spear. Erin and Julian watched in wonder as the spear blasts struck the shield and deflected away harmlessly. Beside them, Lucy watched the control monitors and observed some of the test data coming back about energy absorption and shield strength.

"I've got to say Erin, that data you saved from the Adventi outpost has been a real treasure trove," Lucy grinned excitedly, "This could be start of several new innovations in our tech."

Erin watched as Martin dug in his heels and held his ground against more concentrated blaster fire from Erik before turning back to the scientist, "So you've been playing with the schematics of those force fields that trapped us?"

"Among other things," Lucy said while keying in several codes, "The designs for that force field technology was the inspiration for this new personal shield mode I've installed on your morphers. If we apply it to a larger scale, it might even be able to improve the shield strength of our space ships too. But there's still so much data to go through. I'm sure that in time I should be able to design all kinds of new upgraded equipment for the team."

As Erin continued watching the weapon tests, she considered how the idea of a new force shield function on their morphers was pretty remarkable. Any extra advantage or protective tool that the Rangers could call on was a welcome one. Moments later, all three Rangers stopped as their morphers sounded with a familiar chime. Duty was calling and they had to answer it.

"Thanks for helping with the experiment guys," Lucy called over the speaker, "I think I'll have enough data to use right now."

"And just when I was starting to have fun," Erik smiled before Martin deactivated his shield and gave him a gentle punch in the shoulder.

"All right, enough clowning around big guy. We've got a date with the General. You too Reilly. We'll meet you at the turbolifts."

Erin gave a dutiful nod and headed for the exit to the observation deck, "Sorry Doctor B. Gotta run. Julian, it was nice meeting you!"

"Yeah... same," he said lamely as she rushed toward the elevators and likely didn't even hear him.

As he stood watching the departing Yellow Ranger he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see the pointed look of his boss patiently holding up a data slate, "Sergeant... if you don't mind? We've got a lot of work to do."

* * *

When the light faded from the transporter process, the five Nova Rangers looked around to find themselves in Manila, the capital city of the Philippine Islands. A warm tropical breeze blew through the humid air as bright sunlight glared down from above. The Rangers had been teleported to the roof of a small office building near the heart of downtown and from their vantage point, they could get a clear view of the bustling city. Down below, crowds of festive people were already dressed in colorful clothes and moving in clusters toward the heart of the city.

"Stay sharp Rangers. The Xenos picked a bad location to infiltrate today," came the voice of General Caldwell over their comms, "With the city celebrating a cultural festival today, it's going to be especially hard to keep track of everything."

"Understood General. We'll keep a low profile and monitor the sector for any enemy activity," Martin responded over his wrist morpher. As he ended the transmission, the Red Ranger gave his team a cursory glance before gesturing for them to head for the stairwell leading down. The five had come without their tactical gear and carried concealed weapons under their duty uniforms.

Despite the potential threats near the city of Manila, Caldwell had told the Rangers to try and blend in as UNAF troops on recreational leave. If they had come in full battle gear, it was likely to draw a lot of unwanted attention and concern at the civilian festival currently taking place. Once the Rangers made their way down to the street level, Erin took a look around admiring the colorful street decorations which fused cultural elements of Spain with the sensibilities of an Asian Pacific island people. "Hey Bharata, any of this look familiar to you?"

The Green Ranger smiled and gave a sigh while adjusting his glasses, "Well... it's not Jakarta, but it's nice to be back home in the South Pacific."

"Hmm... and I thought Mexico was a little warm," Erik muttered while putting on some sunglasses and wiping his brow, "This humidity is stifling."

Martin idly eyed the streets while they walked through the festival crowds. He pulled out a small scanning device and spoke quietly, "Remember the mission briefing everyone. A Xeno drop pod is supposed to have landed somewhere around the city's bay area. If there are any enemy aliens running around here, then it's our job to root them out."

"And you want to start by homing in on the residual engine readings of the pod?" Ella asked while pulling out her own scanner.

"Exactly," he nodded, "We'll split up for now and make a sweep. Erik and Erin, you two take the district's east end. Bharata, think you'll be okay on your own taking the west? I figure you'll blend in better around here."

The Green Ranger nodded enthusiastically, "Yes sir. You can count on me."

"Good. Ella, you're with me. We'll canvass the north side of the district."

Bharata rolled his eyes gently in amusement as he saw Ella give a small excited fist pump before walking off to follow their commander.

After the team split up, the Green Ranger strolled through the streets full of festival goers. The air was filled with the sounds of music and laughter while the smells of freshly cooked seafood, rice, and noodles wafted from some concession stalls that had been set up. As much as Bharata wanted to mingle with the neighboring people of his home country, he had to focus his mind on the mission. People's lives were at stake and his team was depending on him to be vigilant. He pulled out a small scanner from his belt and began to search for any traces of an energy signature matching a Xeno drop pod.

After a while of coming up empty handed, Bharata stopped to buy some barbecued pork on a skewer while taking one last scan. As he continued to observe the crowds and stand off to the side, he listened on his comm while Dr. Beckett checked in with the others from Atlantis Base Ops. When she finally got to him, Lucy transmitted some new data to his scanner, "Lieutenant, our satellite sensors are detecting a lot of signal interference in your area. You might want to move toward the outer corner of your sector to get some better scans."

"Copy that Dr. Beckett, but I think I'm going to keep trying a little longer here," Bharata replied calmly as he began walking again. "Something tells me that if we know this could be a potential blind spot, then so do the Xenos."

"There is some logic to that, and the area is heavily populated too," Lucy conceded, "Do you know something we don't?"

Bharata grinned slightly, "Nah. Just call it a hunch. Timothy out."

This was where his training as an intelligence officer might come in useful. While gathering data and information on the enemy was always important, sometimes you needed to rely on some instinct in order to intuit your opponent's moves. Here he was, trying to blend into a jungle... albeit a concrete one with lamp posts and sky scrapers instead of trees and brush.

As Bharata wove his way through the festival goers, he stopped when he saw a parade of masked dancers go by. They were dressed in colorful costumes of Indonesian design and wore intricately painted masks adorned with feathers and other plumage.

Near the tail end of the parade, a group of the dancers quietly broke from the procession and headed off down a side alley of the crowded street. The Green Ranger frowned while watching the unusual display and moved to follow after the masked performers. As he continued to tail them from a safe distance, Bharata watched as the suspicious band of dancers gathered around the front walk of a tall glass office building. The Green Ranger edged around closer and took cover behind some low hedges only to see a group of young women approach. If Bharata had to guess, the girls were probably all high school students who had come out to enjoy the festivities today. To his horror, Bharata watched as the giggling girls approached the masked dancers asking to take some pictures with them.

As soon as the girls gathered around to pose, the masked dancer holding the camera pulled off its colorful garb to reveal a bio-mechanical humanoid. The Xeno turned it's head and pulled off the colorful mask, replacing its face with a new half robotic one. The civilian girls froze and began to cry out in terror but they were immediately silenced as the other masked performers around them pulled off their robes revealing the armored suits of Xeno-Machina foot soldiers. The Eidolon foot soldiers grabbed the students and roughly clamped down on their mouths while the Xeno commander laughed, "What a bunch of stupid humans. You'll be perfect additions to our plan."

The Xenos quickly turned and barged through the front doors of the office building scattering all the people in the front lobby. As civilians within the building scattered and fled in terror, two security guards rose from the front desks to try and halt the invaders. Before the guards could draw their own weapons, the Xenos pulled their blaster spears and fired a volley of energy bolts which tore up the lobby and killed the two guards immediately.

The dual-faced Xeno commander stood impassively watching as the lobby cleared before turning to his troops. He waved to the first squad, "First squad, start placing the bombs in the building. The rest of you follow me. We're going to head upstairs and use these hostages as human shields."

As the Xeno strike force split up and continued their plan to terrorize the city, Bharata quickly rushed inside the building and slipped off into a side janitor's closet to hide. No doubt the Xenos would start placing guards at the doors and threaten to harm the hostages if anyone from the outside tried to rush the building.

The Green Ranger reached for his comm and transmitted an urgent message, "Atlantis Base! Nova Squad... this is Bharata. We have a Xeno terror attack in progress. They're barricading the building around my position. They have explosives set and a hostage situation as well. I'm inside the building but am cut off. Please advise."

The comms were silent for an agonizing minute before he heard Martin's voice respond, "Sit tight and hold your position Bharata. We're on the way to help."

"Sir... the enemy is setting explosives and will likely threaten to kill their hostages. We can't risk a direct frontal assault."

"I understand Lieutenant," Martin answered, "We're going to evacuate the surrounding area while Caldwell comes up with a plan. Until then, we'll need you to keep your head down and be our eyes and ears over there."

"Yes sir. Standing by," Bharata replied quietly as he secured the door and pulled the concealed laser pistol that he had tucked away.

While he waited, the Green Ranger took several deep breaths to calm himself. He had to focus now and consider his options. Even if he morphed, he was severely outnumbered and outgunned. With the complications of bombs and hostages in the building, his options of effecting a rescue became even more limited. He was only one man and if he was going to help defeat this new enemy, he'd have to rely upon his smarts. For now, Lt. Bharata Timothy could only pray that his teammates and the support crews back in Atlantis Base would be able to come up with a new course of action and fast before any more innocent lives would be harmed.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Special thanks and shout out goes to TheDaydreamer25 for contributing her OC of Julian Wilson to the story. He'll make another great addition to the supporting cast!  
**


	10. Countdown

**Mission 4: Part 2  
**

While panic and tension began to sweep the city of Manilla, Bharata sat patiently listening as General Caldwell relayed instructions to him and the rest of Nova Squad from the command tower of Atlantis Base. "Lt. Timothy, Dr. Beckett is going to provide you and the rest of the team with data on the building layout. We've patched into the building's security cameras and see that the Xenos are planting bombs in the sub basement. Your first task is to get there and disable the explosives. Only then will I be able to order the rest of the squad in to help raid the building. It's up to you to find a way to get there, son. Good luck."

The Green Ranger nodded as he got an idea and grabbed a broom and a janitor's uniform from a corner of the storage closet, "I'm on it General. I won't let you guys down."

After disguising himself as a janitor, Bharata exited the closet and quietly followed his scanner down the hallways toward the lower levels of the building where the bombs were apparently being placed. Along the way, he came across an Eidolon foot soldier who was patrolling the hallway and the Ranger stopped to pretend to be cleaning.

The Xeno soldier halted and shouted something in its alien language which Bharata didn't understand. The Green Ranger kept pushing the broom and looked at the ground pretending to be dim witted and ignorant to the whole situation going on around him. It was a risky move, but he had to draw the enemy in closer. The enemy trooper shouted again and approached to take him prisoner but as he drew near, Bharata surprised him by swinging the push broom upward like a polearm.

Using his martial arts skill and agility, the Green Ranger deflected the trooper's weapon aside and smashed the side of the Eidolon's helmet with the broom before kicking out the Xeno's legs from behind the knees. Before the soldier even knew what hit him, Bharata slipped around the enemy and drew a combat knife from the alien's own belt. In one swift motion, Bharata grabbed the Xeno's masked helmet from behind and lifted it just enough to drive the blade clean into the enemy's neck.

After a moment of quiet scuffling, the thrashing Xeno gurgled and went limp before Bharata dragged the body of his enemy into a side room to hide it. As long as there were guards walking around the corridors, he'd have to stay quiet and remain discreet. Unfortunately, that meant no firearms. As he glanced at the knife in his hand and the bloodstained helmet of the dead enemy, Bharata smiled as he drew up another plan to take down the bombers when he reached his destination.

In the lower levels of the building, two more Eidolons finished setting fuses and explosive charges before heading back toward the elevators. When they turned a corner into a wide hallway, they stopped when they spotted the masked conical helmet of a fellow soldier sitting on the ground. The two soldiers exchanged a look and tentatively went to examine it. They saw the helmet was empty but the bottom edge near the neck still had some blood spatters. Before the two Xenos could speculate further, they were ambushed as Bharata dropped from an open ceiling panel and took one down with a flying kick, while grabbing the other and tossing it into a wall with a brutal arm throw. The trooper landed awkwardly on its head and then lay motionless on the ground.

Seeing the two enemies down, Bharata glanced over toward the bombs which had been set up further into the basement. He immediately morphed and got on his comm, "Atlantis Base! I've located the bombs!"

"Well done Lieutenant," Caldwell's voice answered, "Stand by. I'm going to have Lucy and Julian help walk you through disarming them."

"Understood General. I'm going to need some tools transported here and if you can spare any... a little bit of luck too."

* * *

Outside, the streets bustled as curious civilians crowded near the barricades to watch the scene while metro police cars and squads of UNAF soldiers kept the area secure. As they stood from a safe distance away, the Nova Rangers continued to watch the building and wait for word about their trapped comrade. While several local news crews began to set up nearby and report on the situation, a helicopter hovered overhead taking footage for the Philippine national news station.

Amid the clamor, Martin crossed his arms and waited patiently while wearing a stony expression. He hated feeling powerless to act and even more powerless to help his younger teammate who remained trapped inside. As he kept his eyes focused on the top of the building, he didn't notice Erik approach and clear his throat gently, "I know you're worried about him sir. The rest of us are too."

After a pause Erik mused grimly, "Hard to imagine this sort of thing happening again, huh? I thought terrorism and bomb attacks on populated cities had been eliminated a hundred years ago."

"Except those old wars were rooted in religion," Martin observed, "Remember, the Muslim extremists of the past never had a monopoly on this tactic either. The West finally subduing the Middle East by force was one thing, but this conflict against the aliens now? It's something else entirely."

Erik nodded somberly before Martin broke the silence, "Any other updates?"

The Blue Ranger shook his head, "No Captain. We're still waiting. All I know is that Lucy and Julian are still trying to talk Bara through the steps of diffusing the bombs. He's going to need some time."

"As long as there haven't been any explosions, I'll take that as a good sign," Martin sighed, "Keep me posted?"

The Blue Nova Ranger gave a tired smile and put a reassuring hand on his captain's shoulder before heading back to help with the crowd control.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Green Ranger remained morphed and continued to gingerly navigate through the console of the Xeno Machina explosive device. As he cut another wire and deactivated another batch of the bombs, he took a breath when he heard the voice of Lucy's lab assistant Julian on the other end of the comm, "All right. Great work Lieutenant. You're almost through. Now this last part is going to be a little tricky and you're going to need to be extra careful."

"Believe me sergeant, I wouldn't dream of sluffing off now," Bharata muttered while examining the last of the wiring.

"Bharata, the last wiring configuration is set up a little differently," Lucy cut in, "If you don't disrupt the electronics in the right way, it could cause a chain reaction with the remaining bombs. I'll try to guide you through it."

"Okay… no pressure," Bharata thought grimly as he continued to follow her instructions. A few more agonizing minutes later, the Green Ranger lay back in relief as he saw the arming light on the last bomb shut off. "Atlantis Base, the bombs have been disabled. I repeat, the bombs are disabled. Thanks for the assist, lab."

"Great work Lieutenant!" Caldwell replied over his radio, "Now that the explosives are disabled we can tighten the noose. Get back to the first floor lobby. I'm ordering the other Rangers to move in!"

Upon receiving their new orders, the other Nova Rangers morphed and rushed forward to overpower the Xeno sentries still standing guard out front. When they burst into the building's main lobby, they were surprised as Bharata rejoined them just in time.

"Oh man, am I glad to see you guys!" he exclaimed as he was swarmed by his teammates. "What do we do now? There are going to be more enemy troops coming from upstairs and that Xeno has a bunch of hostages on the upper levels."

Ella hurried over toward the security desk and began fiddling with the console. "I'm patching into the building's electric systems to try and slow down the Xenos. I'll leave Elevator Bank Four powered on for us to use."

Martin turned to the others, "Erik and Erin, hold this position and keep the soldiers occupied until we get the hostages. Bharata, take the elevator up and make a run on the civvies."

To everyone's surprise, the Red Ranger turned and began to hurry back outside. Ella tilted her head in confusion, "Captain? Where are you going?"

"Arranging for a ride. I've got a plan to back Bara up when he gets upstairs. Now go!"

Bharata dashed into the open elevator bank and punched in the top floor. He waited restlessly for several long moments as the elevator ascended until it finally reached its destination. Once the doors opened, the Ranger followed the building layout data that had been uploaded into his helmet's HUD. As he came sprinting down the hall, he came across the last two Xeno troopers standing in the way.

Without breaking stride, the Ranger rushed the two startled soldiers and tumbled by their opening attack. He recovered from his roll and smashed the first foe into the wall with a roundhouse kick. As the other tried to strike with his blaster staff, Bharata used a swift grapple maneuver to fluidly twist the weapon away and shove the second Eidolon into his comrade before blasting them both in the torso. As they slumped over dead, Bharata tossed aside the staff and burst into the large penthouse conference room at the end of the hall.

He stopped when he saw the masked Xeno commander waiting for him along with the group of terrified Filipino school girls cowering in the corner of the room. The commander turned and gave an amused laugh, "Well... this is a surprise. A Ranger who actually made it up here to face me. I don't know if I should be glad, or insulted that only of you came."

"I don't care about your feelings. How about you release these poor girls," Bharata replied levelly, "Your fight is with us Rangers."

The masked Xeno stepped near the large glass windows surrounding the room and pulled out a remote control device, "Maybe so, but that doesn't mean I can't take a few hundred civilians with us in the process."

He pressed the button and waited but nothing happened. Bharata watched as the girls continued to cower and the alien chuckled again before tossing aside the remote, "You disabled the explosives in the building too? Impressive. It seems I'll have to..."

He was cut off as the buzzing sounds of spinning rotors drowned him out. To the alien's surprise, a local news helicopter ascended right outside and the Red Nova Ranger threw open the door. He drew his blaster pistol and fired several shots to blow open the windows while spraying the Xeno with a cloud of glass shards.

"Martin!" Bharata cheered in relief as he saw the chopper close with the opening in the building.

While the pilot kept the aircraft steady, the Red Ranger extended a hand acting as a bridge to the chopper and waved the hostages over, "No time Bara! Get the girls over here now! Hurry!"

Bharata scrambled and herded the frightened girls toward the window where Martin helped them escape one by one into the helicopter. Just as the Green Ranger was about to make his escape, an energy blade thrown by the Xeno commander struck the side of craft near the rotor causing significant damage.

"No!" Martin shouted in futility as he kept trying to reach for his comrade. Instead, the chopper pilot pulled out quickly and made an evasive maneuver to land the smoking helicopter without any more damage.

Having been stranded in the tower, Bharata turned to the alien who now approached with a laugh, "Now it's just you and me Ranger. No more surprises."

Before he could draw a weapon, the Xeno charged him and engaged him in unarmed hand to hand combat. While Bharata landed several fierce punches and kicks on his enemy, the armored cyborg grabbed the Ranger's arms and hurled him over the conference room table causing Bharata to slide and land hard in a stunned heap. The masked Xeno leapt over the table and pinned the Ranger down in a choke hold.

"Your unarmed combat skill is impressive," the Xeno sneered as it tightened its grip, "But you forgot that your fists still can't penetrate my armor."

"And you forgot that I still have a gun," The Green Ranger smirked as he swiftly pulled his Nova Blaster from his holster and fired point blank into the monster.

The Xeno shrieked and toppled backwards from the force as Bharata stood and fixed his pistol on the alien. "Stand down! It's over!"

"For the both of us," the alien laughed while rising to its feet. Its ruined mask was scorched and a cloud of sparks erupted as the Xeno tore off two of its burnt chest plates to reveal another explosive device which had been implanted within its chest cavity.

Bharata froze in shock and kept his aim fixed on the Xeno. "Hold it right there! Don't come any closer!"

"I didn't expect you to disrupt our bomb attack Green Ranger," the alien said calmly while he edged closer without fear, "But now it's my turn to surprise you."

"Why are you doing this?" Bharata asked while desperately trying to keep his enemy talking. He hoped it would give him enough time to think of a new plan, "Why do you want to blow up this building so badly? There's no strategic significance to this place."

"You think this is the real objective?" the alien sneered, "You think our kind is really that short sighted? Even if I die here, the mission will already have been a success."

"Why don't you surrender and tell me all about it?" the Green Ranger offered but the Xeno only laughed scornfully in reply while holding up a second detonating device.

"Goodbye Green Ranger. You certainly made things fun for us today."

Bharata frantically looked about the room and then to the shattered glass window where the hostages had escaped. Despite his calm mind, he could only come up with one solution and it was a risky one. He reached for his morpher and activated the new force shield mode while radioing the base, "Dr. Beckett! Requesting emergency beam out! Hurry!"

No sooner did he raise his energy shield, the masked Xeno hit the trigger and detonated the bomb in his chest. A powerful fiery explosion rocked the top floor of the office building as the force of the suicide bomber's blast struck the Green Ranger's shield. Bharata gave a terrified cry as the shield buckled and he was swept out of the broken windows into the air. For several terrifying seconds, the Ranger tumbled wildly in a midair freefall before he was blinded by a flash of light.

Down below, spectators gasped and shouted as the top of the glass office building exploded and a Power Ranger fell off the side. In the middle of his plummet, the Orbital Relays locked on to Bharata's morpher and teleported him to safety. That wound up being back on the street where the other Rangers waited with baited breath.

As the light faded and Bharata flailed on the ground for a moment, he stopped and realized that he had in fact been saved from his otherwise fatal fall. A loud cheer erupted from the crowd followed by the applause of the civilians as Bharata was hauled to his feet by his relieved teammates and gangpiled.

Ella laughed loudly and gave her comrade a big hug before Eric and Erin happily joined in to jostle them as well.

As the damaged helicopter carrying the Red Ranger and the hostages touched down safely on a nearby building's rooftop, they witnessed the heart stopping events and Martin held his breath until he heard Lucy's voice on the comm, "We've got him! Everyone is safe."

"I'm glad to hear it," the Red Ranger nodded in relief as he peeked over the side of the building to the rescue celebration breaking out down below. With a calm smile, he radioed Bharata, "Great work today Bara. That was a pretty remarkable save."

Down below, the Green Ranger looked up on the roof to see all the schoolgirls that had been rescued waving their hands excitedly and blowing him kisses. Behind them, Martin stood quietly and kept a vigilant watch over the scene. Bharata returned the wave to the girls and then turned it into a thumbs-up toward his commander, "Thank you sir. I'm just glad no one else got hurt today. The street festival may have been ruined here but there's still a lot to celebrate today."

"Enjoy it Lieutenant. You earned this one," Martin nodded gently as he ended the call and looked out over the sparkling sunlit waters of Manilla Bay. Whatever the Xenos motives were, it was a disturbing change of tactics. Until now, all the other targets were strategically significant to Earth's defense forces. If civilian centers were going to be targeted in terrorist style attacks, there was no telling what else lay in store for future assaults. At least for now, a victory was a victory.

* * *

A few days passed and the comfortable feelings of peace and routine began to return for the Nova Rangers after their ordeal in the Philippines. They had returned to Atlantis Base for rest, debriefings, and the filing of mission reports. On that particular afternoon, the team had gathered in a conference room of the command tower to discuss the last engagement with General Caldwell.

As he set aside a folder of documents, Bharata paused and looked to everyone when it was his turn to speak, "General, there's still something that bothers me… something that the bomber said. The Xeno said that even if he died, the mission was a success. He mentioned another objective and I can't help but wonder if this was all planned."

"That the bomb attack in Manilla was all just a distraction?" Erin concluded as she scratched her chin.

"It's quite possible," Caldwell finally said as he rose from his chair at the head of the table and paced idly, "The question becomes what the enemy's objective is. What is their next target and how can we defend ourselves from it?"

"Is it possible for us to take the fight to the Xenos instead?" Ella asked hopefully, "We did recover a lot of information recently from that mission to Mexico."

Caldwell gave a rueful smile and shook his head, "I'm afraid we're going to have to play defense for a while Miss Catalano. It's going to take time to rebuild our space fleet and to upgrade our technology further."

"Then that's what we'll do," Martin said while closing his own binder and giving a small nod toward Bharata, "The last thing we should do is underestimate our enemy's capabilities. That's going to require using our heads and gathering good intelligence. Right Lieutenant?"

"Yes Captain," Bharata grinned in response.

Caldwell headed back to his chair and produced one more folder with an amused smile, "Oh… Rangers, before you go there was one other thing. I've recently received some sensitive intelligence myself… or rather some fan mail that Mr. Timothy might be interested to see."

He slid the folder over to the Green Ranger and Bharata opened it to see several long handwritten letters and photos from all the high school girls he had saved. As the other Rangers gathered around curiously, he breezed through the materials seeing pictures of the girls posing glamorously while wearing all sorts of stylish green colored clothes to show their support. Along with the senders' photos were letters thanking him and professing their love, telling him how they all had huge crushes on him now.

"Hey! Way to go bud! Looks like you've got a whole crowd of underage fangirls losing their minds over you," Erik teased while throwing an arm over his younger friend.

Bharata flushed and tucked the folder away while the other Rangers shared a laugh before being dismissed by the General. As the Rangers left the table, they began to file out and head for the turbolifts. While they all walked together, Erin clapped Bharata on the shoulder, "So, we've still got the rest of the day off. Did you want to go do something fun to relax?"

The Green Ranger thought for a moment, "Well, I was actually thinking I'd do a little more martial arts practice... just to clear my mind after all this insanity."

"You know, I think that's a good activity for all of us to participate in," Martin said thoughtfully, "If you'd be willing to teach us, of course."

Bharata beamed proudly and led the way while the others nodded in agreement, "Of course! I can start by showing you guys some movements that are good for meditation and…"

"Forget that boring stuff," Ella cheerfully said while waving it off, "I wanna learn how to do all that crazy ninja assassin stuff you pulled in the building."

"I... think not," the Green Ranger said hesitantly amid more laughter.

"Okay, are there any Touch of Death moves in silat?"

"No. No. And No."

"Fine. Will you at least teach me to use a machete or something?"

"Ella!"

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **On that note, coming up next is a focus on our lovable Pink Ranger Ella. Stay tuned, we've got more chapters coming very soon.**


	11. The Model Soldier

**Mission 5: Part 1  
**

Bright light filled the large transporter room as the Nova Rangers returned to Atlantis Base from their latest skirmish with their alien enemies. As the five rematerialized from the teleporter and stepped off the transit platform, they were met by the sight of Dr. Lucy Beckett waiting patiently. She adjusted her glasses and straightened her lab coat primly, "Welcome back Rangers. That was quite a show you put on this morning."

From where she stood, she could see that the exhausted Rangers were all haggard and covered in dirt and smoke from the recent op. After fighting off an alien threat in Turkey, they had stayed to help some of the local fire crews rescue civilians and battle the flames.

"Considering that firebomb, I'm shocked that only one building was completely lost," Lucy commented while the Pink Ranger Ella chuckled lightly.

"I'm sure the Chinese Embassy there will understand... at least I hope they will."

"Tell me about it," Erik sighed tiredly while checking his wristwatch. "After all that, I can't believe it's not even lunch time here."

"Agreed. It was pretty rude of the Xenos to wake us up at three in the morning," Erin added while rubbing her eyes and giving a yawn.

The Red Ranger removed his combat helmet and tiredly wiped some grime from his brow, "Which is why I think we should all hit the showers and get some shuteye right now. I'm sure the General will postpone the debriefing."

"Martin, before you go, there's something else," Lucy said with a mildly uncomfortable grimace as she started walking alongside him, "Caldwell said he wanted to talk with the team about..."

The doors of the room swished open and a young man in his late twenties entered with a wide grin. He was a handsome man with short dirty blonde hair and green eyes. "So these are the rising stars of the UN Defense forces! I can't believe I finally get to meet you!"

Everyone stopped and stared at the newcomer wearing a pressed blue oxford shirt and dressy slacks with shoes. In one of the man's hands was an expensive camera. Judging by his accent, he sounded like he might be British.

"And just who are you?" Bharata asked with a mixture of surprise and suspicion.

The man gave a gracious smile and extended his free hand, "Nigel Moseby, news correspondent of the BBC. Pleasure to meet you!"

Martin glanced toward Lucy who replied with a helpless shrug before turning on the visitor with a frown, "We don't allow news reporters free reign on the base. Who gave you clearance to be here?"

"I did Captain," came the voice of General Caldwell as he entered the room, "Though very reluctantly."

"Sir? What's going on here?" Ella asked in confusion as she stepped forward.

The older Canadian General gathered everyone together and grimaced slightly, "It seems the UN politicians are playing some games right now and they want more transparency in the current war effort. Many on the International Oversight Committee think that our operations here and the Nova Ranger program should be more... accessible to the public. That is why Mr. Moseby and several other people from the press were sent as embedded reporters to cover the activities of the UNAF."

"Sounds more like political grandstanding to me," Martin said sourly, "For all we know the IOC is either doing this to score some brownie points with the public or to snoop around on us. Maybe both"

Moseby raised a placating hand and waved it off, "I assure you that isn't the case at all. I understand your concerns. Military people have never liked us journalists meddling in your affairs and criticizing you. I promise you Rangers that I'm actually a very strong believer in your cause."

Erik grimaced and gave an uncharacteristic frown himself, "No offense Mr. Mosbey, but even if that's true... the last thing we need to do right now is to babysit a civilian. We're busy and there's a lot of danger too."

"You'll hardly know I'm here," Nigel replied smoothly, "If anything, the world deserves to know more about the people behind the Rangers helmets... the truth of what great heroes you are. The five of you have been gaining quite a bit of notoriety around the globe and I want to put that on full display... of Captain Martin Sterling, the steadfast exemplar of American courage and leadership... or Erik Dobermann, the big German attack dog with a bigger heart for the wounded... there's Bharata Timothy, the fearless hero of the South Pacific... and Erin Reilly, the Emerald Isle's linguistic prodigy..."

"I'll give him a few points for the flattery," Bharata muttered to Erin quietly while Nigel turned to Ella and stopped, "And you... Carmella Catalano. Wait! Hold that pose!"

The Pink Ranger stood dumbfounded as the reporter pulled out his camera and snapped a few quick pictures of her holding her own combat helmet... all with her mussed hair and grimy face.

"Brilliant! Truly smashing!" Nigel said examining the digital shots before lowering his camera, "You're very photogenic Miss Catalano. Those shots would be perfect for a front page story. It's so real... and natural. You weren't by chance a model were you?"

"Oh... well... no," Ella replied sheepishly, "I had been asked to consider it back home in Milan during high school."

Nigel grinned and made a grand gesture, "Just think of the headline. This could make you famous... The Italian Beauty of the Battlefield."

"Except I think our Pink Ranger is in need of her beauty sleep right now," Martin said flatly as he cut off the reporter and stepped in, "That goes for the rest of the squad too."

Ella caught her commander's arm a moment and pleaded, "Wait sir... let's not be so short with Mr. Moseby. If you think about it, this could be a great opportunity for all of us."

Martin mulled it over for a moment and turned to Caldwell, "General, is there really no other way around this right now?"

"I'm afraid not son. Politically, my hands are tied at the moment," the older man sighed.

Martin nodded and gave Ella a mild smile of amusement. Despite her occasional flights of fancy as one of the youngest Rangers on the team, Ella had always shown herself to be a very dutiful and responsible soldier up to now. She seemed eager for a chance and he decided he could trust her with this. Martin patted her on the shoulder before heading off with the other Rangers, "All right then Lieutenant. Once you get some sleep, I'm putting you on escort duty. While Mr. Moseby is here, I'd like you to give him a tour and be responsible for him. I'm sure it won't be any trouble?"

"No sir... and thank you," Ella answered dutifully while giving a salute, "You can count on me. I'm sure everything will be just fine."

As the others left, Lucy turned and glanced toward General Caldwell only to see him roll his eyes. He didn't seem too convinced, much less thrilled at the idea of a nosy civilian getting in the way. For now, all he could do was play nice and continue keeping his guard up against the political vultures no doubt circling Atlantis with interest.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the dark side of the moon, the Xeno Machina aliens continued to busy themselves within their disabled mothership. The biomechanical monstrosities methodically worked to repair their ship's systems while assisting in the ongoing military campaign against the humans of Earth.

The field commander of the alien force known as Warmaster Hellspont made his way across the catwalks of the engineering deck where several large power generator cores were being worked on. Each turbine looking device had a tangle of coiled pipes and cables which occasionally pulsed and gave them the look of horrific giant octopus type creatures. Down below, work crews of half-roboticized drone slaves labored over their projects. The humanoid aliens whom the Xenos had already assimilated in the past mindlessly milled about like worker bees in a hive.

Upon leaving Engineering, Hellspont made his way into the bowels of the ship where the Xeno Overlord Phaeton dwelled in his lair. As the final gates opened a handful of the genetically engineered foot soldiers called Eidolons who guarded the corridor snapped to attention and let him pass. Finally the Warmaster approached the giant cybernetic overlord whose body was fused to the ship and bowed his head, "I have good news. The repairs are going well Lord Phaeton."

The cybernetic overlord slowly turned his large bionic eyes on the general, "Good. And the campaign against the Terrans?"

"They are… more resistant than we expected," Hellspont admitted unhappily, "They've made progress in adapting some more Adventi technology to help their efforts. Their elite soldiers… the Nova Rangers have been a particular annoyance."

"Those setbacks mean nothing to me Warmaster. Continue with our current strategy," Phaeton answered in his booming voice. "The Terrans haven't detected the other troops that we've been landing during the raids?"

"No my Lord," Hellspont replied, "The humans have been so fixated on the diversion attacks, they've failed to notice any of the infiltrators. Once our troops are in place, I believe they should be able to cripple the planet's defenses."

"Good," the overlord rumbled, "In the mean time, I want you to order another raid… and this time, make sure it's very disruptive."

* * *

A few relatively quiet days passed around Atlantis Base while Nigel Moseby made the rounds trying to get some interviews with the military personnel stationed there. Much to his chagrin, most of them remained fairly tight lipped. On that particular afternoon, he settled on interviewing Ella while they ate lunch in the mess hall. As he jotted some notes down in his pad, he leaned back in his seat thoughtfully, "Well Miss Catalano, you've got an inspirational story here. Overcoming the tragic death of your older sister back in Italy when you were young, joining the Air Force and becoming a brilliant computers specialist… not many girls have the guts to do that kind of thing."

"It's not often we're all threatened by aliens from another galaxy either," the Pink Ranger replied as she finished her meal.

Well, you're a Power Ranger now and one of the youngest on the squad. It's great stuff for an article. I think the editors might be interested in a piece like this."

"Wow! You really think so?" Ella said imagining what it would be like to be covered in a big newspaper. Her old classmates back in Italy would be sure to be jealous. She shook it off and opened a small plastic baggie that she had taken with her to lunch, "Oh… Nigel, would you like some banana bread for dessert? I like to cook in my free time and baked some yesterday. You can be the first to sample it before I take the rest to my team."

The reporter eagerly nodded and took a bite of the bread he was handed. He immediately regretted it as he felt the equivalent of a tactical nuke go off on in mouth. Nigel forced a smile and swallowed until Ella turned away for a moment to put the bread away. He pulled a small flask of hard liquor from his pocket and took a big swig before continuing on.

"You know Ella, I appreciate that you're probably one of the few people around here who's been willing to get interviewed. Everyone has either made themselves busy or told me to buzz off. What they don't realize is what positive exposure can do for them... for your war effort."

Ella frowned, "This shouldn't be about us trying to be famous here. When my older sister Lucia was killed in a mugging, part of the reason I joined the military was to help prevent others from dying from senseless violence too. All of us in the service are just trying to do our jobs to protect others because many of us feel strongly about this kind of thing."

"Sounds like something Captain Sterling told me the other day while giving me a lecture on ethics," Nigel huffed, "Honestly, how do you Rangers stand serving under such a chilly guy."

"The Captain is just very protective of our team," Ella answered with a small smile, "In his own odd way, he's just showing us that he cares."

"Really? And how much do you care Lieutenant? Sounds like you've got some interesting insight on the matter."

The Pink Ranger flushed slightly and frowned to give him a mild warning. Before she could say anything more, her morpher's signal went off indicating trouble. She immediately rose from the table and grabbed her things, "Come on. We've got a situation."

"It's about time," Nigel muttered while he excitedly jumped to his feet and followed close behind Ella as they charged down the halls of the base toward the command tower.

* * *

A short while later, Ella rejoined her squad-mates as they gathered in the transport room and made some last minute equipment checks. While Lucy got behind the console of the teleporter to see them off, Nigel stood near the transit platform listening as Martin gave the squad final orders, "Okay everyone, we're headed back to Turkey. It looks like there's a Xeno raid breaking out in Istanbul this time. Standard procedure, secure the area and neutralize the enemy. Everyone locked and loaded?"

Erik eyed the younger Rangers and gave a thumbs up to their commander, "We're ready sir!"

"Stand by for transport to Istanbul in thirty seconds," Lucy called from the controls.

Nigel furrowed his brow and looked over to the Pink Ranger, "Ella! You have to let me come with! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to cover a huge breaking story!"

"Stand back Nigel!" the Pink Ranger called back forcefully, "The battlefield is too dangerous. Just stay here where it's safe!"

The journalist pulled out his camera and wrinkled his features with a conflicted look.

"Don't do it!" Ella warned him again as if sensing what he was thinking.

"Ten seconds!" Lucy announced.

From their spots on the transporter, Bharata and Erin exchanged a panicked look and moved to block the way but they were too slow as Nigel leapt up onto the transit platform just as the transporter activated.

Several heartbeats later, the five Rangers and their hitchhiker rematerialized on the city streets of Istanbul Turkey. In the near distance of the eastern horizon loomed the distinct form of the great temple Hagia Sophia. The towering minarets had already begun to reflect the orange, red, and gold, light of the setting sun while columns of smoke rose from the west of he district. Crowds of terrified civilians and tourists fled and knocked over several souvenir stands that had been set up along the streets of the historically famous commercial center known as the Grand Bazaar.

Once they had gotten their bearings, Ella rushed over and roughly grabbed Nigel by the collar of his shirt. She throttled him furiously, "What the hell do you think you're doing Nigel? Do you realize what you've just done? You disobeyed an order and now you're going to put the mission in danger!"

"I'm sorry Ella! You have to understand, I couldn't pass on this opportunity to get right into the center of the action. The people have to know!"

"You disobeyed an order and you violated the rules!" Ella insisted while shaking him. If there was anything that set her off as a soldier, it was when people knowingly or carelessly violated orders.

"If you don't get out of the way and let us do our job, there won't be any people left to read your stupid news column Moseby," Erin muttered as she slapped a fresh power cell into her rifle.

Erik grimaced and kept watch on the fleeing crowds of people coming from the west, "The guy's not wearing any homing beacon so they can't teleport him back."

"I know," Martin growled as he listened to Lucy having an apoplectic fit on the other end of his comm. The Red Ranger slowly drew his pistol and gave a cold threatening look toward the journalist, "We'll deal with you later. Stay out of the way and keep your head down. If you put anyone here at risk, I swear I'll shoot you myself. Are we clear?"

Nigel swallowed hard and gave a trembling nod while the Rangers sprinted off down the alley. As she had always been a naturally fast sprinter, Ella led the way as Lucy began downloading city maps and tactical data to the Rangers from Ops back at the base. Once they turned a narrow corner into a plaza, a nearby three story shop blew up as a winged figure swooped up from the smoke. The Rangers waited for the debris and smoke to momentarily clear before they saw what looked to be a Xeno Machina field commander gently descend from the air.

It looked like an armored humanoid with two sleek steel wings protruding from its back. In place of its left hand and feet were metallic talons while a strange arm cannon made up the alien's right hand. Two angry motes of light glowed from within the Xeno's avian inspired battle helmet as it touched down amid the smoking rubble. Scattered about the small plaza several dead and wounded civilians lay, the survivors twitching and moaning for help but the Xeno ignored them.

"Rangers, it seems you weren't challenged here last time. I am Cyclonus and I will not let you interfere with our plans any longer."

"And what is your plan?" Erin called out while gripping her rifle tightly.

Cyclonus began to laugh, "What else? To enslave your miserable world. Your resources and your lives will be ours. There's no point in resisting."

"We'll just see about that," Ella replied as she raised her morpher along with the others.

In a flash, the five morphed into their Ranger suits and pulled their blasters. Unknown to them, Nigel had arrived at the scene and began to take several pictures from behind the cover of a ruined building's corner. As he continued to snap photos focusing more toward Ella, he watched as the Rangers fired a volley of laser bolts only to have them deflected by the Xeno's steel wings. Cyclonus drew them up like a protective shield then burst forward plowing through the Rangers in a swift rising swoop before circling back around and unleashing a powerful column of swirling tornadic wind from his arm cannon.

The cyclone beam hit the ground around them and threw the shocked Rangers in all directions with tremendous force. Nigel burst from cover and rushed over near Ella to get a better shot but he momentarily lost track of the alien. As she pulled herself up and shook off the stars in her eyes, the Pink Ranger panicked when she saw the incoming Xeno and the sight of Nigel nearby.

"Imbecile! Nigel! I told you to clear out!" Ella snapped while she leveled her Nova Blaster and tried to take aim again on the Xeno commander. Unfortunately, she didn't have enough time to line up a clear shot. Cyclonus raised his arm cannon and fired a powerful stream of tornadic winds at the Pink Ranger. As the tunnel of swirling air engulfed her, Ella was thrown back hard onto the hood of a nearby car and stunned.

At this point he wasn't sure if he was rooted in place due to fear or the irrational desire for his scoop, Nigel kept snapping pictures with trembling hands until the monster whirled around on him. The Xeno aimed his wind cannon at the reporter and snorted, "You think this is some kind of a game human? You're going to regret playing!"

The Xeno spread its metallic wings out and began to hover before it raced forward and snatched the terrified journalist in an iron grip.

"Help!" Nigel choked out as the Xeno aimed its wind cannon down and took off rapidly into the skies from a powerful jet of tornadic air. The wind howled around the streets and kicked up blinding dust that momentarily blinded the other Rangers as they raced over to help.

When the wind cleared, they saw Cyclonus gliding off in the distance with his victim as Ella rolled off the car with a groan and dragged herself over. As she approached, she grimaced behind her visor when she faced her commander, "I'm sorry sir... I feel like this is all my fault. I should have muzzled Nigel when I had a chance. I screwed up."

Martin watched the departing form of the alien fly off in the evening sky before turning back to the team, "We'll deal with that later. Right now we've got burning buildings and civilian casualties. Erik contact Atlantis and tell them to get an AWACs unit out here. We'll need an eye in the sky to track that Xeno. Erin and Bharata, you two radio the local authorities for help. We'll assist with SAR operations until we can regroup and form a new plan. Let's go!"

As Ella watched the team break their huddle, she looked up toward the darkening skies lit up by the smoldering fires on the streets. She was determined to set things right by stopping that alien and rescuing Moseby, even if he ruined the mission. Right now she was surrounded by fires, smoke, and suffering bystanders. She had to do something to help and if doing her duty meant working through this scene of Purgatory, then she would do it.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **AWACS- Airborne Warning and Control System, usually a high altitude scout plane with powerful sensors and radar detection**

 **SAR- Search and Rescue**


	12. The Bold and the Beautiful

**Mission 5: Part 2**

After a long night of helping local rescue crews fight fires and dig out civilians from ruined buildings, the Nova Rangers were given temporary lodging at a vacant building near the historic Topkapi Palace at the east end of the central city district. By morning, several squads of UNAF troops had arrived to assist in the efforts to help the city in the wake of the Xeno attack. The vacant building had now become a makeshift headquarters for the joint defense forces as they regrouped in the morning to be appraised of the situation.

That morning, Ella Catalano rubbed her eyes tiredly as she heard the door knock followed by Bharata's voice, "Wake up sleeping beauties! We've got a new mission briefing in fifteen minutes!"

The Pink Ranger sat up in her sleeping bag and glanced over to see Erin roll over in her own bag with a grumble, "We need to find a new line of work."

The two girls had found an empty room to sleep in for the night and they groggily did what they could to make themselves look presentable before heading down the hallway to an empty conference room. There they found the male members of the their squad not looking much better after only five hours of sleep. As they took a seat and greeted the others, Erik handed them some granola bars and juice pouches while Martin made his way to the front of the room with a dry erase board.

"I wish I could say good morning, but we've got a dicey situation," the Red Ranger began before giving a yawn, "Overnight, we've been joined by a squad from China and another from the local Turkish military. They've given us some intel on the location of that Cyclonus character."

"Where is he?" Ella asked, "Do they know anything about Nigel?"

"It seems the Xeno and a strike group of their Eidolon troops have holed up in the north district across the Golden Horn waterway. They've seized the Galata Tower and haven't moved since."

Erin scratched her chin, "It's a good fortified position. I'm guessing they figure it's a historic landmark so we wouldn't dare risk destroying place right?"

"Unless you guys want me to scale the building and pull a repeat performance from Manilla," Bharata grimly joked.

"Hopefully that won't be necessary," Martin said, "Local defense forces have surrounded the area and secured the air space around the tower."

"Still... it's troubling sir," Erik commented, "It's like the enemy is drawing us into the area to stall us. Why didn't they flee? Do they really think they can hold out there forever?"

The Red Ranger crossed his arms pensively, "I know Erik. It doesn't sit well with me either, but the fact is, the Xenos have a hostage and the more time goes by, the harder its going to be to effect a rescue. Our best bet is going to be to try and draw that commander out."

"How are we going to deal with him?" Bharata asked, "You saw how fast that guy was... and he could fly!"

While the others talked, Ella sat tapping her fingers on the metal chair until she jumped from a small static shock. That was when she got an idea. "Captain... I think I know a way that we can stop that alien, but we're going to need a lot of metal and some electric generators."

* * *

Later that day, Nigel Moseby sat huddled in the top floor of the Galata Tower turret. The stones of the old medieval tower were damp and cold and the reporter jumped in fear as Cyclonus entered from the inner doorway followed by two Eidolon soldiers. The Xeno took one look at the tired disheveled young man before giving a sniff and heading toward one of the turret windows. "What a worthless prisoner. Why those Nova Rangers even tried to save you on the streets yesterday, I can't imagine. I have my doubts they'll even come here to retrieve you."

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Nigel stammered as the two guards hauled him roughly to his feet. The Xeno commander looked out the turret window to see a small crowd of police and UNAF security forces surrounding the tower. The alien slowly turned around and walked over fixing his gaze on the terrified man.

"I am a Xeno Machina warrior. I am doing my duty... to buy my allies as much time as I can give them. Who knows? You may even live long enough to see your precious world fall into our hands. Wouldn't that be something to report on?"

He was cut off as several flares shot past the tower windows and startled the aliens inside. Cyclonus looked out the window just as he heard the voice of Erik calling out to him over a megaphone below, "All right bird brain! Come on out! We're looking for a little rematch with you... if you're not too scared!"

The Xeno snorted, "I think I could use the exercise. Sitting cooped up in a tower is not my idea of fun."

Down below, the Rangers watched as the Xeno commander emerged from the tower and spread his wings in a challenge. Before the Rangers minus Ella stepped forward to confront the alien, one of the UNAF sergeants turned to Martin while his troops set up a large crane with a heavy metal weight and electric generators. "Are you sure this is going to work sir?"

"No," Martin admitted, "But I trust Catalano. She's a smart girl who knows what she's doing. Rangers? Ready?"

The other three Nova Rangers nodded and morphed as Cyclonus swooped down from the tower to do battle. While the Rangers drew their Nova Striker energy blades and engaged the Xeno in battle, Ella edged around the base of the tower and fired a grappling hook upward to latch on to the top balcony of the building. She fixed the cable to a harness around her and hit a switch causing it to retract and pull her upward along the tower wall. She ascended the tower quickly and as she came over the edge of the balcony, the Eidolon guards all turned in shock to see her barge in. Before they could raise their weapons. Ella reached for her compact assault rifle and squeezed off several shots which struck each target and dropped the enemy troopers with las bolts.

As the weapon fire died down, Nigel looked up in awe to see the Pink Ranger reload her weapon and extend a hand to the startled journalist, "Nigel! There you are! Come on! We've got to get out of here! There might be more guards coming!"

Nigel rushed over in relief, "Ella! You came! Oh, I'm going to make you a hero when we're done here!"

"Less talking, more running!" she shouted as she grabbed him and began to rappel down the side of the tower. No sooner had they jumped off the side, more guards appeared at the top of the tower and began to open fire with their weapons on the balcony.

Nigel gave a fearful cry as they roughly descended down the tower while stones and enemy fire rained down on them. Once they reached the bottom, Ella morphed and cut the rope with a utility knife before pushing Nigel toward the barricades where the police and security forces stood. "Let's go!"

As they charged across the pavement, stray shots from aliens in the tower harried them while they dodged Cyclonus and the other Rangers waging a battle nearby too. To Ella's relief, the enemy fire from the tower stopped as the sound of a high powered rifle sounded. Two Eidolons dropped off the tower as a UNAF sniper sat up from the rooftop of a nearby building and gave Ella a thumbs up. The celebration was short lived as a powerful blast of wind rocked the plaza and swept the other Rangers away. Ella was thrown face first to the pavement and rolled over to see Cyclonus approaching her menacingly. "Not so fast Pink Ranger! Were you really going to ruin my plans? I'll teach you!"

The Xeno rushed forward with his arm cannon raised but Ella drew her Nova Striker and ignited it at full power. The energy blade flared to life and with one swing, she sliced off the Xeno's wind cannon. Cyclonus howled in surprised fury before extending his metallic wings to bat her aside. Despite her efforts to block, Ella was stunned by the blow and thrown backwards to the ground.

The wounded Cyclonus laughed scornfully as he marched forward loomed over her, "You really think you were clever enough to outsmart me Pink Ranger? It's over. There's nothing left that you can do."

"You're wrong," Ella said as she struggled to rise, "I'm going to clip your wings. Hit it now!"

The Xeno froze and looked up toward the large crane truck nearby that Ella had turned her attention to. Behind the controls, a UNAF soldier pulled a lever and activated the newly assembled electromagnet that had been attached to the end of the crane. Cyclonus gave a startled cry and flailed helplessly as the large metal charged with electricty and became magnetized. The Xeno's armor and steel wings were pulled hard and the alien was lifted upwards until he stuck onto the giant weight. Ella gave a smirk as she rolled sideways to get clear of the electromagnet and then pulled her blaster pistol.

"No! What are you doing?" the helpless Xeno cried as he thrashed feebly.

Ella fired several shots at the cable holding the giant heavy weight and in a cloud of sparks, the cable was blown apart. Everyone on the streets watched as the giant weight came crashing down with the Xeno trapped underneath it. He continued to wail as the magnet smashed on the ground with a tremendous impact, shattering concrete and crushing the Xeno warrior to death.

Once the shock and the dust subsided, Ella rose to her feet amid cheers from the local police and the UNAF troopers who were present. The other Rangers made their way over and gathered around to congratulate her.

"Damn Ella! That was badass!" Erik cheered as he picked her up in a bear hug and put her down for Bharata and Erin to pat her helmet. The Pink Ranger gave a tired laugh and turned to her commander who graced her with a slow nod. She glanced over to where Nigel was being looked at by some EMTs.

"Sir, about Moseby..."

"We'll deal with him," Martin reassured her, "The important thing is everyone is safe and the plan was a success. Well done Lieutenant."

Despite her reservations at the moment, Ella couldn't help but deny she was feeling on top of the world. Despite everything that had happened, it seemed the Rangers were one step closer to driving off their alien invaders for good... or so she could only hope.

* * *

A few days passed since the fierce battle in Istanbul and the process of dealing with the aftermath began. After having returned to Atlantis Base, the Rangers were given some much needed downtime to rest and recover while the rogue journalist Nigel Moseby was cleared by the medics and confined to his quarters following a lengthy tongue lashing by General Caldwell himself.

On that particular morning, Ella sat relaxing with Erik and Bharata on a park bench in the city's West End to take in some fresh air and sunlight. While they chatted idly, they were surprised to see Erin hurry down the sidewalk carrying something under her arm. The Yellow Ranger gave a wave and called out, "Hey Ella! Guys! Check it out! Moseby's article got published!"

The others looked up in surprise as she headed over to the bench where the others sat. The Yellow Ranger handed off the data slate she was carrying and on it was a major news article written by Moseby which featured Ella front and center. The photos were touched up and the cover shot gave her a bold heroic look with the battle flag of the UNAF waving behind her.

"The Bold and the Beautiful: A Call to Arms!" Erik read from the headline as Ella began skimming over the expose. While the article contained a loose retelling of recent events about the encounter in Turkey, large passages were filled with purple prose and over the top glorification of the war as well as overcoming all kinds of struggles and adversity. Erin sighed and scrolled down the page.

"That's not the best part. Check this out."

She highlighted the last few blocks of text while paraphrasing in a pompous voice, "Let her be an inspiration and an example to us all, especially the women. Do your part and enlist in the war effort! Be just like her! Blah! Seems like Moseby's chosen you as some sort of Joan of Arc figure to inspire the troops and push a recruiting drive."

Ella clenched her fists angrily and stood up, "I never agreed to be portrayed this way! There's nothing glorious about all the killing and dying going on during these battles! I'm not going to let my story be used as pro-war propaganda! Where is Moseby?"

Erik shrugged while reclining on the bench, "I heard he was leaving this morning. Caldwell was sending him away and Dr. Beckett was going to transport him back to London once his bags were packed."

Before anyone else could get a word in, the Pink Ranger began storming off, "Oh he's got one more thing to take with him! Out of my way everyone!"

* * *

A short time later, Nigel Moseby stood in the main transport room of the base and waited at the edge of the transit platform. Lucy and her lab assistant Julian stood behind the control panels preparing the teleportation coordinates to London while General Caldwell waited nearby wearing a sour look toward the reporter.

Nigel gripped his suitcase and gave a nervous laugh to try and break the awkward silence, "Well General... it's a shame having to leave so soon and all. I never really got a proper chance to thank your Rangers for saving me earlier in the week... they all seem like a good lot."

"I'll pass the message along," Caldwell replied tersely, "After your little stunt, I'm surprised they decided to rescue you. If any good comes of this, it's going to be the IOC backing off and recalling your lot."

At that moment, the doors opened and Ella barged in. The furious Pink Ranger marched right up to the reporter and pushed the data slate right in his chest, "I hope you're happy with yourself Mr. Moseby! Even after you survived through it, you've still got things completely wrong! War is not some fun glorious adventure and serving in the military is not a game! I gave you an interview because I hoped you'd put a real human element to things! The UN soldiers fighting and dying out there are taking things seriously... dead seriously!"

"I don't get it," Moseby sputtered in alarm, "I just wanted to inspire others! To help you guys on the front lines!"

"You can help us by telling the truth about what war is really like... for the troops and their loved ones!" Ella shot back as she tossed the suitcase on the transit platform and reared back. Before Nigel knew what hit him, Ella hauled off and punched him right in the face. The reporter flew backwards and landed flat on the transit platform just as it energized. In a flash, Nigel was gone and Lucy gave a knowing smirk from behind the control panel. Julian raised a thumbs up while Ella turned to Caldwell who stood by impassively.

The older man simply nodded with a smile and headed calmly out of the room, "My mother had once told me to beware of Italian women... like handling a loaded shotgun, she said. Well done. Carry on Lieutenant."

* * *

Later that day, Martin sat at his desk doing paperwork in his quarters. As he finished filling out some requisition forms and began writing a new mission report, he heard his door chime sound. Without looking up, he continued typing, "Come in."

When the doors opened, he glanced in surprise to see the Pink Ranger enter hesitantly. He closed his laptop and sat up curiously, "Lieutenant? Is everything all right?"

"I'm really sorry to bother you Captain. I, uh... needed to talk to you about something important."

He tilted his head slightly and gestured to a nearby chair, "Please... have a seat."

"If it's okay, I prefer to stand right now sir," Ella replied while standing at attention, "I'm sure you've already heard about Nigel's little expose in the papers?"

"You mean the propaganda piece? Or should I call it the shameless recruiting ad?" the Red Ranger nodded, "Yes. Lucy showed me a copy when I had lunch with her this afternoon."

Ella sighed and glanced slightly out toward the windows where the calm blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean rippled. "I didn't know he was going to do that. I... I just wanted to try and do well by the squad and show that I could be dependable. Instead Nigel almost screwed everything up and now he's done this. I'm responsible for what happened and I'm really sorry."

Martin leaned back in his seat and gave a long thoughtful sigh, "Lieutenant, you didn't know Nigel was going to do this. None of us did. I'm still not happy about the way things happened, but I know you were doing your best. That's why I decided to trust you on this... and on the op in Turkey."

"Sir?"

"Ella, if I can be completely honest for a minute... you're a very valuable part of this squad. Among the younger members of the team, you're probably the one I'm least worried about doing something reckless or pushing back when I give an order. I can depend on you to do your duty," Martin answered.

"Oh... then you probably didn't know that I gave Moseby a black eye right before he left. I kinda lost my temper when I saw that article earlier."

"You what?"

Ella lowered her head in mild shame, "I know... it was conduct unbecoming of an officer. Considering how much trouble I caused lately, I wanted to beg you to please not court martial me or enter a formal reprimand in my record! I don't want to leave the military! I want to stay on this team, sir!"

The Red Ranger stared in shock before a small amused smile crossed his lips at the thought of Moseby getting decked. He slowly stood up and walked over to put his hands reassuringly on Ella's shoulders, "Relax Lieutenant. I'm not going to kick you out of the squad or draw up formal charges but I'll still have to discipline you... maybe extra PT and scrubbing latrines for a week."

"I understand... thank you sir," Ella sighed in relief.

Martin stepped back and nodded smartly, "You're welcome. Will that be all Lieutenant?"

Ella thought for a minute and cleared her throat, "Permission to speak freely?"

The Red Ranger gave a confused look before nodding again.

"Captain... I want to thank you for being honest... and for putting some trust in me. I think very highly of you and I just wanted you to know that if we weren't bound by the rules and regs, I'd ask you out for a drink in the officer's lounge."

Martin paused before clearing his throat, "Lieutenant... I appreciate the honesty and I'm very flattered. But I wouldn't be able to return those feelings. In a way, there's kind of someone else in my life right now... it's a complicated thing, but she means a great deal to me."

"I understand sir. This is nothing you need to worry about. It's just a little shallow crush to work through," Ella nodded, "But... I still just wanted you to know."

"I'm glad you told me Ella," he answered gently, "You're a model soldier. Thank you."

With that, the Pink Ranger stepped forward and surprised him with a little innocent kiss on the cheek before stepping back and saluting respectfully, "Thank you for understanding sir. I hope you can overlook that one last minor infraction there."

Martin smiled and slowly returned the salute, "Why don't you gather the rest of the team. I'll join you all in the mess hall for dinner in a little while?"

"Yes sir," Ella chuckled as she headed out the door in relief. As she walked down the corridor, a thought struck her. What better way to end the day than with a special treat for her friends. Before she'd gather her friends for dinner, she headed back to her room to pick up a little surprise addition to the dessert menu. She couldn't wait to see the look on her teammate's faces when they tasted her "new and improved" banana bread.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **One more Ranger focus story left to go before things get really nuts! Wooo!**


	13. Nemesis

**Mission 6: Part 1  
**

A calm ocean breeze blew across Atlantis Base as Erik Dobermann made his way up the stairs of the rooftops of the barracks. As he walked out into the cool evening air, he saw the person he was looking for at the far end of the rooftop. "Captain Sterling… there you are! I've been looking for you."

"Evening Lieutenant," Martin replied absently while he worked to set up a small amateur telescope, "Is something wrong?"

Erik walked over curiously and joined the Red Ranger, "No sir. I was just coming to see if you wanted to come to movie night with the others. I heard some old comedy called Ghostbusters was playing tonight."

"Maybe another time," Martin said, "I was thinking of doing some star gazing tonight."

Erik crossed his arms in mild amusement, "I didn't know you had any hobbies sir. Between putting the squad through its paces and training with the base's other fighter pilots, I thought you only had time to eat and sleep."

"Contrary to popular belief, I am in fact human Erik. I do have personal interests," Martin said patiently while making adjustments to the telescope.

"Huh... I never really pegged you as an astronomer. Is that why you joined the Air Force?" Erik asked as he sat down by his commander.

Martin shrugged, "Maybe a little. Something about the open skies just always drew my attention even as a kid. Although I'm not an astronaut or serving with the space fleet, studying the stars and planets was always something I liked."

"And you like doing this? Alone?"

"My old team and I would often do this and…" Martin trailed off at the casual mention of his previous Ranger team. He frowned and tried to banish the painful thoughts of the past as they all came flooding back.

"Sir?"

"It's nothing Lieutenant. I'm fine," Martin sighed as he continued to work on the telescope.

"Captain, you said your former team… the Alpha Rangers would go stargazing together," Erik prompted.

The Red Ranger looked up to the stars in the night sky and blew out a long breath, "It sounds kinda silly now… but after learning about the Adventi aliens... well, we'd all look up into the night skies and search for signs of other beings out there. We wondered if there was any other life in the galaxy and what they'd be like if we ever met them… I guess we got our wish, huh?"

Erik fell silent as Martin finished calibrating the telescope. After another solemn pause, the Red Ranger turned the scope up toward the starry heavens and gazed into the lens, "I guess now I'm just looking for something else up there… hoping maybe I'd find some kind of sign that one of the old Rangers might be waving back."

The Blue Ranger nodded with a sympathetic look before standing up, "Are you sure you don't want to join us downstairs sir? You don't have to be up here all by yourself tonight."

"I appreciate the offer Erik, but I'll be okay... really."

The Blue Ranger sighed and departed the rooftops leaving his CO alone with his thoughts and the twinkling stars above.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the dark Xeno Machina mothership, Warmaster Hellspont sat at his command chair gazing out over the quiet lunar landscape from the ship's forward viewport. The warlord had grown restless and he hated sitting idle knowing that several squads of foot soldiers who had snuck by to infiltrate planet Earth were busy paving the way for a greater assault in the coming weeks. While other lesser warriors and battle drone were content to train and perform routine battle drills, Hellspont was itching for a chance to flex his mechanically augmented muscles. He had been told that a special project he had commissioned his engineers to build would be ready very soon. He rose to head down to the engineering deck when he was stopped by one of the lesser bridge servitors. The cyborg shuffled forward and handed him a datapad while giving a bow, "The newest intelligence reports intercepted from the planet sir."

Hellspont breezed through the data until he stopped at a fascinating dispatch. After pondering it over a moment, he turned to the servitor, "Prepare a new strike team. We're going to assault a new target."

"Warmaster?"

Hellspont smiled and turned toward the windows, "We're going to strike an important Terran military depot. If we do that, we'll keep their space fleet delayed in rebuilding."

"Shall I give you a list of field commanders to lead the raid sir?"

Hellspont shook his head, "That may not be necessary. If my new war machine is ready, I think I might be able to lead this attack myself."

* * *

In a flash of light from the Earth's teleportation satellites, the Nova Rangers rematerialized and found themselves on the grassy grounds of a small UNAF military installation. The five stepped off the base's small outdoor transit platform as they were greeted by the base commander, a tall middle aged Hispanic man with short salt and pepper hair. The Rangers gave a salute to the senior officer as he smiled while returning the gesture, "Nova Rangers, welcome of Alaska Base. It's a privilege to finally meet you."

"The pleasure's ours Colonel Reyes," Martin answered as they fell in line behind the base commander. "General Caldwell spoke well of you in our mission briefing before coming here."

Col. Reyes grinned and gave a small chuckle, "I served under the General once when I was just a Captain. I always thought he was good guy."

As they walked, the Colonel gave them an informal tour of the small base which served as a munitions depot and resupply point for some of the larger command posts in the region. A few trucks with boxes and oil drums drove about while transport shuttles buzzed about on delivery runs. On one of the far runways, the Rangers also spotted two sleek Pegasus fighter jets sitting idle. To those in the Air Force, they somewhat resembled the old American F-22 Raptors, except these craft were heavily upgraded with Adventi weaponry and flight systems.

As he passed, Martin gave a sigh and shook his head to himself thinking what a waste it was to keep such an impressive aircraft grounded. While they walked, the Colonel continued to talk, "Again, I really appreciate you Rangers coming all the way out here to Anchorage to help. I know things look quiet around here, but one can never be too sure... especially considering the circumstances. The world has been a dangerous place lately."

As they continued on, the Rangers looked around at the surrounding area and took a moment to admire the scenic landscape of Alaska. In addition to some of the taller buildings of the small city of Anchorage, the five could see a chain of sleepy looking snow covered mountains along the distant horizon. It was early November and a chilly breeze blew in over the port city's waters signaling the start of winter. So far, no snow had fallen yet and the last bits of the green summer growing season clung stubbornly to the landscape.

The team followed the Colonel inside a two story concrete building to a modest command center. As they passed several subordinate soldiers and base personnel working at their stations, Reyes gestured to a communications console alongside a large map of the region. "I'm sure you already know that this supply depot is the final spot for those new starship power cores before they're shipped out to the fleet."

"It's a remote area and a good place to be moving that important stuff around quietly," Bharata noted while looking at the map.

Reyes grimaced slightly, "Yes. All the other components for the power cores have been delivered but we're still waiting on some fuel rods from Russia. It makes me concerned to have such vital equipment sitting in the storehouses while we wait for the fleet to get its act together."

Ella idly paced around the room and examined the base's computer consoles. They weren't as high tech as the ones at Atlantis Base, but they were still very serviceable, "Don't worry Colonel. I'm sure with the five of us here to beef up security, your engine cores should be safe."

"I hope you're right Lieutenant," Reyes sighed as he wrinkled his features in worry.

Before the Rangers could say anything else, they all heard a crackling transmission come in over the radio of the comm station. Erin immediately hurried over and filled in at the empty work station. She punched some keys and tried to put her communication officer skills to use. "Sir, this looks like it could be a distress signal. It's coming in over a UNAF frequency and it's using our pass codes."

"Can you clean up the transmission?" Reyes asked.

Erin quickly worked the keyboard and made some adjustments before a clearer signal began to come through. It sounded like a woman's voice which had recorded a message and was set to repeat itself. "Mayday, Mayday, this is the UNAF transport craft Pelican 3 en route to Alaska Base. Our aircraft's gone down. Cause unknown. Requesting immediate rescue."

"Pelican? That's the transport craft that's supposed to deliver the fuel rods!" Reyes gasped in horror.

"Pelican 3, this is Alaska Base. Please respond," Erin answered. She tried several more times without a response. Finally, the Yellow Ranger turned to the others and shrugged, "I'm guessing their radio equipment was damaged in the crash. I can't reach them, but if we triangulate the radio signals, I think we can get a fix on their general location."

Col. Reyes's features darkened and he turned to an aide in the room, "Go get a transport shuttle ready. Our top priority is recovering that crew and its cargo."

"Can't we just use the orbital relays to teleport there?" Ella asked in concern.

The older man shook his head, "Unlikely. Relay beacons are few and far between in these remote areas. If you did, you'd probably still have to hike several miles through rough terrain and wilderness. Trust me, it'd be faster to fly there."

"Colonel, with your permission, I'd like to volunteer to join the rescue team," Martin cut in, "I can double as a copilot if need be."

"Me too," Erik said as he stepped forward, "I'm a medical officer and if there are any injured crewmen, I think I can help."

Reyes considered it for a moment before giving a quick nod, "See to it Captain. Godspeed."

As he left, Martin turned to the rest of the team, "I want you three to stand guard here until Erik and I get back. Do what the Colonel says. Nothing reckless and nothing stupid. Got it?"

"Be careful sir. We'll keep the lights on for you when you get back," Bharata nodded.

The Red Ranger gave a satisfied nod and clapped his XO on the shoulder before heading outside, "Okay then. Let's go Erik! Those downed pilots aren't going to save themselves you know."

* * *

Some hundred miles elsewhere, the ruins of a crashed UNAF transport craft sat in a small wooded valley of Denali State Park. A small plume of smoke still hung over the coniferous tree lines and lingered from the gaping hole in the transport shuttle where it was hit by an alien missile. The Eidolon foot soldiers did one last sweep to secure the area before regrouping around the shuttle they had shot down. While they milled about, the Xeno Machina general Hellspont or rather, a remote controlled battle drone in his likeness stood scanning the area while admiring the sight of the majestic snow capped Mt. Denali in the distance. From the Xeno mothership, Warmaster Hellspont plugged in to a computer and exercised direct control over the advanced drone that had been crafted to resemble him. In a way, it was a chance for him to lead from the front without actually having to be there.

His attention was drawn away as he head one of his troops approach, "Warmaster, there's a transmission coming in. It's responding to this ship's distress signals. Should we reply?"

The Warmaster considered it before shaking his head. "No. The Terrans will surely send a rescue party here… maybe even the Nova Rangers. I want to lay a trap for them when they come."

"What about these cargo containers? They look like the fuel rods for the starship engine cores."

Hellspont took a few steps and continued surveying the area, "Hold on to them for now. I have a plan to use them for destroying that base."

The Xeno trooper nodded, "As you wish. And one other thing… our scouts found one human survivor from the crash. She was badly injured and we suspect she was the pilot. What should we do with the prisoner?"

"We're not going to take prisoners on this mission," Hellspont replied coldly, "I've no use for a cripple who will only slow us down."

The soldier nodded and charged his blaster staff before quickly heading off to the other side of camp. As the alien Warmaster cast his gaze back over the serene mountains again, he heard the sound of one Xeno blaster go off followed by silence. A pack of startled birds took off from the nearby treeline and as he watched them flee, Hellspont couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Later that day, a small transport shuttle carrying Martin, Erik, and a pair of search and rescue specialists departed Alaska Base and cruised at low altitude over the wooded mountainous terrain. While they sat gazing out over the scenic landscape, the two Rangers idly chatted to pass the time. Erik sat back in his chair and adjusted his helmet, "So sir... have you looked over my recent proposals to improve the operations of the squad?"

Martin gave a mild chuckle of amusement, "Yeah, I was especially curious about those suggestions for when we actually morph into action. Is having a morphing call really necessary?"

"What's wrong with _Energize_?" Erik protested, "It's direct. It works. And it gets the point across."

"Okay, to be honest _Energize_ sounds fine actually. I'm more concerned with the *ahem* battle stances and roll calls?"

Erik laughed, "Oh come on Captain! What kind of team of self respecting Power Rangers doesn't do that?"

Martin rolled his eyes gently, "Oh, I don't know... maybe one that doesn't want to get shot up by standing around in the open while flapping their gums?"

"Will you at least just think about it sir? It'll be good for team morale," the Blue Ranger insisted.

Before they could continue their banter, the aircraft was rocked from behind by a large blast and the sound of an explosion roared from one of the tail engines. The shuttle lurched sideways violently while several warning lights began to flash red and klaxons sounded.

"What the hell was that? What hit us?" Martin shouted while the others staggered to steady themselves. His stomach began to churn as he felt the shuttle lose altitude and descend quickly.

"I don't know sir! Something from the ridges just shot up and blew out our rear drive engine," the pilot called fearfully as he tried to regain some control of the vehicle.

"Enemy weapons fire? Could the Xenos be lurking around here?" Erik shouted above the wail of the warning sirens.

The shuttle rattled and shook again as the aircraft make a veering turn while falling. The pilot gripped the controls tightly and shouted, "Everyone! We're going to make a crash landing! Brace for impact!"

Everyone in the shuttle fearfully strapped in and held on for dear life as the damaged shuttle pod clipped the top of the Alaskan treeline and smashed through the cold woods leaving a swath of destruction in its wake. The impact shook the entire shuttle and stunned all the occupants as it skidded to a halt on the ground and finally stopped after a ways.

After what seemed like eternity, Martin shook the stars from his eyes and undid his safety harness. His whole body felt sore and bruised but it seemed he survived the crash. Smoke filled the cabin as the lights went out and a few flickering warning lights provided a little illumination. The Ranger rolled out of his seat and croaked, "Erik? Anyone? Are you there?"

"I'm here sir... barely," Erik groaned as the big German tried to get out of his seat. He took a few steps and immediately fell over in pain. "Gah! _Scheisse_! (Shit)"

"You okay big guy?" Martin asked as he stumbled over to aid his comrade.

"It's my leg... I think I hurt something in the crash... hell, I think I might have broken my ass too."

Martin nodded and got in position to haul his friend up and support his weight while the two made their escape from the crashed shuttle. As they headed for the door, they saw the pilot slumped over the controls face first and not moving. It seemed the same fate might have befallen the other UNAF trooper in the shuttle as she lay motionless. He would just have to go back and pull them out to see for certain if they were still alive, but it was hard to tell at the moment.

Martin grunted as he pulled Erik free of the wreckage and the two stumbled forward to try and keep their balance. "Geez buddy, I think you're going to have to lay off the sauerkraut and strudel. You're heavy."

"Coming from an American, I don't know if I should laugh or feel offended," Erik joked back grimly as they trudged several meters further.

As they came upon a fallen log to set Erik down and examine his leg, they heard their comms light up with frantic calls from both Lucy in Atlantis and Erin from Alaska Base. "Nova Red, Nova Blue, please respond. Captain Sterling? Lieutenant Dobermann?"

Before the two men could answer, Xeno blaster bolts erupted from some nearby trees and struck them full on. Instead of standard energy blasts, these ones were green in color and sent a paralyzing shock through the Rangers' bodies. Those weapons must have been switched to a low powered stun setting but it did the job. Both Martin and Erik toppled over in a heap and landed on the cold hard ground of the wild forest.

As they lay helplessly twitching and convulsing for a few moments, they saw several Eidolon soldiers emerge from the brush followed by their leader... a Xeno warrior wearing ornate dark colored power armor. He had a sinister conical helmet with glowing red eyes and Martin's heart stopped in terror as he saw the visage of the foe who had murdered his former squad and haunted his dreams for the last five years... the Xeno warrior known as Hellspont.

As if living in a waking nightmare, Martin feebly thrashed in the dirt as the malevolent commander loomed over him. One of the Eidolons called out in their language, "Warmaster... shall we execute these Terran survivors too?"

Hellspont raised a hand and silenced them speaking so that the Rangers could understand, "No. These humans are different. I know who they are. These two are Nova Rangers."

"Hellspont..." Martin groaned as he slowly fought to regain minor control of his body from the stun gun.

The general bent down and eyed the Ranger curiously, "Yes... you know me. I recognize you too Captain Martin Sterling. You were that Ranger from five years ago... the one wearing Silver."

The Xeno rose with a contemptuous snort, "You've changed your colors and you don't look like such a frightened little boy anymore. You almost look like a real fighter. That's good."

"You bastard..." Martin spat weakly, "You murdered them... my old team. I'll kill you."

The Warmaster replied with a cruel laugh, "I'm glad you remember that. I never did get a chance to finish the job that day... to finish you."

"What are you waiting for?" Martin croaked venomously as he continued to struggle against the paralysis, "Why don't you fight me?"

Hellspont shook his head, "You'll get your chance Ranger. Very soon."

At that moment, Erik thrashed on the ground nearby, trying to roll clear but an Eidolon stopped him. The Xeno pinned the Blue Ranger down with a firm boot to the ribs while fixing his blaster on the Ranger's head.

"No! Wait!" Martin cried out frantically, "I'm the squad commander. I'm the one you want. Spare him."

Hellspont studied the Red Ranger for a long moment before taking hold of a blaster staff. He aimed it idly at Erik and said calmly, "You feel compassion for your subordinates, don't you?"

The general quickly turned the blaster up on the trooper covering Erik and fired once. The energy bolt hit the enemy trooper at close range and blew a hole through his chest. The dead Eidolon collapsed while the others stood impassively, only turning their heads slightly when the weapon was discharged.

"Compassion only gets in the way and makes you a weak leader," Hellspont mused while tossing aside the blaster, "That is why you will lose this war Captain. Soon this entire planet will belong to us and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

The Warmaster flicked a wrist gesturing to his troops before walking off. Martin watched helplessly as two soldiers hauled Erik up to his feet and dragged him away. Before the Red Ranger could struggle any further, he saw the boot of an Eidolon trooper come crashing down on his head and cover his world in complete darkness.


	14. The Price of Victory

**Mission 6: Part 2  
**

 _Fire continued falling from the skies as Martin Sterling lay dazed and wounded on the ravaged grounds of Washington D.C. Fires burned nearby while the smell of smoke clawed at his ruined visor to choke him. Through the blood that had trickled down from his forehead and impaired his vision, the young Alpha Ranger watched helplessly as the malevolent form of the Xeno general approached slowly to finish off the last surviving member of the Ranger team._

 _Before the dark warrior could get any closer, a fiery comet fell from the sky and landed near the National Mall. A downed American fighter plane plowed into the earth while part of its wing sheared off and separated the two combatants by a new wall of fire along the ground. Hellspont halted and recoiled from the fires before turning to leave the scene. To him, the battle was already over and the last Ranger was as good as dead there anyway. Hellspont disappeared into the darkness of the night amid smoke and fire which continued to swirl. As Martin lay in a delirious fog drifting in and out of consciousness, he finally saw lights from above and the sounds of a rescue chopper. With the last ounce of strength, he tried raising his hand up toward that saving light._

The Red Ranger awoke to find himself laying on the cold hard forest grounds of Alaska looking up to the hazy noon sun above. His head was still throbbing and he groggily sat up to find himself in a wooded clearing. The place looked to be the campsite of the Xeno-Machina raiders except it was empty, save for his fellow Ranger Erik and the Warmaster himself.

The Blue Ranger had been propped up near what looked to be a small alien drop pod. If Martin had to guess, it was the Warmaster's command vehicle and it still looked functional. Erik struggled against wires that bound his wrists and his feet which severely limited his movement while Hellspont ambled over and tossed the Red Nova Morpher in front of Martin.

"I'll give you credit. Whoever designed that device knew what they were doing… but it's still just a toy… a pathetic imitation of the Adventi's technology."

Martin kept his eyes fixed on his adversary while he recovered his morpher and rose to his feet. "What's going on? What are you doing?"

"I'm letting you have your chance to fight me Ranger. That is what you wanted, wasn't it?"

"Don't do it sir! You shouldn't trust him!" Erik interrupted with a hoarse shout, "Get out of here and save yourself! Let me…"

The Red Ranger cut him off, "This is my fight so don't interfere! That's an order Lieutenant!"

Martin glared at his injured comrade before slowly turning back to his adversary. The Ranger wore a stony face as he slowly raised his wrist morpher, " _Energize_."

In a flash of light, the Red Nova Ranger emerged and called his Nova Striker to his hand. As he ignited the vibroblade and took a fighting stance, Hellspont laughed before charging forward with his own weapon, a menacing vibrosword of his own. Erik watched as the Red Ranger and Xeno Machina general clashed weapons and began exchanging blows with each other in the wooded clearing.

As both combatants pushed against each other, Martin used his relative speed and agility to parry aside Hellspont's sword and strike a glancing blow across the general's flank. To the Ranger's shock, he saw his energy blade gouged out a shallow smoking divot from his enemy's armored side, exposing circuitry and mechanical pivot points. "You're a full machine?"

Hellspont laughed and advanced again, "No Ranger... a remote controlled battle drone. A proxy vessel for me to command here."

The Warmaster locked weapons again and tripped Martin with a sneaky kick in the ankle. "It may not be as strong as my real body, but it will still be enough for you."

As Hellspont brought down another blow, Martin raised the force shield in his morpher and blocked it. The Warmaster furiously rained down a few more savage hammer blows to no avail before Martin swept Hellspont aside with a shield bash. Both combatants tumbled sideways and regained their footing before the general raised his arm and fired several plasma bursts from a small wrist mounted cannon. The powerful bursts acted like shotgun blasts and overloaded the Red Ranger's force shield making it short out.

The two locked in close quarters battle again using their swords along with various hand-to-hand moves to counter each other. As Hellspont pressed his attack, the Ranger gasped as his vibroblade was batted away. Martin ducked a follow up blow and struck back at his foe's weapon arm by drawing his Nova Blaster pistol and firing several shots. The las bolts damaged the wrist joint of the Hellspont drone causing it to drop its weapon too and stagger back as it took a few more shots to the chest.

"You've gotten strong," the Xeno general snorted in amusement as Martin stood trying to catch his breath and keep his pistol aimed, "But what lengths will you go to achieve victory against me?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Would you be willing to give up the lives of your troops to have your revenge, just as I am sending my squad to their deaths right now? As we speak, my company of Eidolon warriors are attacking Alaska Base and carrying the starship fuel rods that we stole. Even if my men die, they'll still be sure to detonate those explosives and accomplish the mission. Your precious fleet will be without its fuel cells and countless Terran soldiers at the base will be killed by their own handiwork."

Martin gasped in shock and hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should radio a warning right there. That moment's delay gave Hellspont his chance to strike and the general fired his wrist cannon which shot Martin's pistol out of his hand and threw him down to the dirt. As the Red Ranger tried to rise, Hellspont was already upon him, delivering a savage downward punch that dazed Martin and cracked a corner of his Ranger helmet. The same kind of desperation and fear coursed through him again as he saw the general loom over him and stamp down on his chest with his boot to pin him to the ground.

"Like I said Captain... your compassion and humanity... it's a fatal weakness. You fought well, but it's time to end our little duel. There's no one left to help you now."

"That's where you're wrong Xeno!" came the defiant voice of Erik as he gave a shout and awkwardly gripped Martin's fallen Nova Striker in his bound hands.  
Despite his restraints, the Blue Ranger had crawled over in the dirt and quietly recovered the weapon. He reared back as best he could and hurled it across the clearing to Martin. "Captain! Catch!"

The blade handle skidded in the dirt right to Martin's outstretched hand. The Red Ranger shook off his pain and weariness just long enough to reignite the blade and hack off the battle drone's foot which pinned him. Hellspont roared and staggered back drunkenly while raising his wrist blaster just as Martin brought the blade up and around for a finishing slash. The two hit each other with point blank attacks and were thrown in different directions from a resulting explosion.

When the fires subsided and the smoke began to clear, Erik saw Martin slowly pick himself up from the dirt. The injured Ranger had demorphed and his face was bruised and bloodied from a small cut on his head. The grime covered Ranger coughed and groaned in pain before rising to his feet and picking up his fallen blaster pistol. As the fires parted, Martin staggered over to where he saw the remains of Hellspont's ruined battle drone laying on the ground. Only its upper torso remained intact with a partially missing arm and a half mangled head. Its one remaining red eye focused on Martin as he walked over and eyed his enemy.

"You will not win this war. You don't have what it takes Sterling," the Hellspont drone said mockingly.

"It was enough to beat you today Hellspont... and I'll do it again when we meet in person the next time."

Hellspont laughed again, "Whether you kill me or not makes little difference. Your world will fall and humanity will cease to exist. I am made for war and if I die, then I welcome it."

Martin aimed at the drone's face and fired a single las bolt which obliterated the battle droid's head. He stood in silence for a long moment examining the ruins of the drone before tossing aside the gun and limping over toward Erik.

"Captain... are you okay?" Erik said as the Red Ranger knelt down beside him and cut his bonds with a utility knife.

"Not until we warn the others back at Alaska Base. We've got a potential nuke ready to go off at any time and the Xenos will be all too happy to trigger it."

Erik grunted in pain from his own injury and reached for his morpher, "I'll have Dr. Beckett relay a warning right now. You've done enough today sir."

"No," Martin said as he helped Erik rise to his feet, "We need to get back to the base and help the others. Hellspont left his own personal transport here so that's what we'll take. With some luck, we may be able to figure out how to fly it."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Erik asked, "Let's get a move on."

"Not before I say one more thing," Martin replied quietly, "You saved my life back there and helped me in that fight. I... thank you for disobeying me this one time Erik. "

"You're welcome boss. I'll try not to make a habit of it," Erik smiled as the two exchanged a firm handshake. "All right, what say we take that Xeno transport and go barnstorming?"

* * *

Meanwhile, a fierce fire fight had erupted around the perimeter of Alaska Base as Eidolon troopers landed their transports nearby and began attacking the area. At the forefront of the defenses, the three remaining Nova Rangers morphed and took command of several hastily assembled squads of UNAF troopers that rallied to defend the base.

Amid the heavy exchange of blaster fire, Ella directed a squad of allies to fan out and hold the line while Bharata and his troops laid down some covering fire with their energy weapons. He gave a grim smile as he stayed low and ducked some enemy bolts, "Well girls... the good news is, this is a munitions depot. At least we won't run out of ammo."

"Oh sure, one stray shot lands in the wrong place and we all go boom," Ella retorted as she hurled a grenade at some advancing Eidolons.

"Will you two keep it down with the doom and gloom?" Erin grumbled in annoyance while diving for cover and trying to adjust the communications settings in her Ranger helmet, "I think I'm getting a call."

Amid the din of battle, Lucy's voice came through, "Nova Rangers! Martin and Erik had been shot down by the Xeno strike force, but they're on their way back to base. They wanted to warn you that the enemy you're fighting has stolen the fuel rod canisters meant for the fleet. Do not let them reach the base limits and set off the explosives. Exercise extreme caution!"

"Damn! Like our day couldn't get any worse?" Erin mused to herself as the laser fire died away and the enemy troops regrouped into a denser formation.

"Dr. Beckett, can you and Bharata use your scanners to pick out which trooper is carrying the fuel rods?" Ella asked before frowning at the enemy formation, "What are they doing?"

"Looks like they may just try to make a suicide charge to reach the base," Bharata said grimly while coordinating his helmet sensors with Lucy's scanners. "If their atomic blast can get at the munitions stockpiles under the grounds of Alaska Base, it may wipe out more than just Anchorage."

"Then we make every shot count and we do it accurately, "Erin replied while readying her own gun. "Our teammates are counting on us."

As the Xeno strike group charged together in a massed suicide rush, they were picked off one by one from careful measured fire from the UNAF defenders. As they neared, Bharata scanned their ranks and picked out the last enemy trooper in the column who was radiating residual energy from the power cores in his large field pack. "There he is! I see him!"

As he fed the data to his fellow Rangers, Ella raised her pistol and aimed a careful shot while the other Eidolons continued to absorb fire and get mowed down. As the last of the enemy neared the base perimeter, Ella took the shot and scored a perfect bulls eye right in the face of the Xeno trooper's helmet. As the bomb carrying Eidolon went down harmlessly, the last of his comrades were shredded by the stubborn concentrated fire of the UNAF troops.

Once the firing ceased, the three Rangers got up and hurried over toward the downed Eidolon carrying the fuel rods.

They pulled the vital canisters and looked up just in time to see Hellspont's command pod descend from the sky and land clumsily near the grounds of Alaska Base. To their shock and relief, out came the forms of Martin and Erik, both looking a bit worse for wear. Bharata immediately rushed over to help steady the injured Blue Ranger as he got out of the pod while Ella greeted her commander with a relieved hug, "Sir, you're okay! We thought the worst when you and Erik went down earlier!"

She stopped and looked at the cuts and bruises on his face as he let her go, "I… Captain, you look terrible!"

"You should've seen the other guy," Erik said grimly as he exchanged a subtle look with the Red Ranger, "We'll explain it all later."

"That's a good idea because I think we might have a new problem here," Erin worriedly called over.

The Yellow Ranger held the two large canisters containing the high powered materials for the starship engine cores and cleared her throat, "If my helmet's scanners are reading this right, these look like they may be growing unstable. Considering how they've been getting thrown around and shot at all day, I'm afraid there's been damage to these containers and the mechanisms that keep these rods from going nuclear."

The Rangers fell silent and waited as Erin patched Lucy through to scan the fuel rods and size up the situation. After running a few sensor readings, Dr. Beckett's voice became much more grave, "Rangers... it looks like Lt. Reilly is right. I'm picking up microfractures in the canisters which are destabilizing the energy containment fields."

"In English Dr. Beckett," Eric prompted.

"If you don't get rid of those canisters soon, there's a good chance you'll have a massive nuclear explosion on your hands. I'd give it no more than twenty minutes."

"What? Where the hell are we going to detonate a nuclear bomb like that in time?" Bharata exclaimed in growing panic.

Martin scanned the grounds of the base before his eyes settled on one of the Pegasus fighter jets sitting on the runway. "The only place we have available at the moment. First, I'm going to need a flight crew and someone to jury rig a missile."

* * *

"You're going to carry the nuke into space and blow it up there? This is insane sir. You know that, right?" Erin said in concern as Martin climbed into the fighter jet and strapped on the safety harnesses. In no time flat, the crews of Alaska Base were scrambling to fuel the jet and secure a single missile packed with the fuel rods.

"Unless you've got a better idea, this is the plan Lieutenant," Martin replied as he strapped on a pilot's helmet and zipped up a hastily donned flight suit.

"You're taking a big risk Captain. Are you sure this is going to work?" Bharata called as the ground crews hurriedly finished the last of the flight checks.

"No. But we have to try. I'm not going to sacrifice Alaska Base, Anchorage, and the rest of this team if I can help it."

The other Rangers stepped back wearing worried looks as the fighter's canopy closed and the Red Ranger taxied out to the center of the runway.

"Tower, this is Captain Sterling designating call sign Nova 1. The parcel is secure. All systems are go."

"Acknowledged Nova 1, you are cleared for emergency takeoff," replied the base's air traffic controller, "Godspeed Captain."

"Roger that tower," Martin answered while easing his grip on the joystick and quickly taxied the fighter jet forward. He checked the chronometer as it continued to tick down the time he had left and he pushed the throttle causing the plane's engines to roar to life. The Rangers watched from the fields as the Pegasus fighter sped down the runway and quickly took off into skies above.

"Nova 1 is away. Quick climb to four thousand feet," Martin reported while rapidly ascending and flipping a few more switches. As it picked up even more speed and altitude, the fighter soared high over the Alaskan wilderness and the sight of the mountains began to trail away, "Initiating secondary thruster jets in four, three, two, one… mark!"

At that, the fighter's secondary boosters flared and Martin held the stick tight to make an abrupt vertical climb. The Pegasus fighter rocketed skyward like a blazing missile while the pilot gritted his teeth from the tremendous G-forces being exerted on his body. It was exhilarating, terrifying, and spectacular all at the same time as the fighter soared ever higher pushing at the limits of the stratosphere. This was where the advanced Pegasus fighter earned its name. Like the mythical creature who flew its riders to the heavens, this model of aircraft had the unique ability to quickly ascend into space and operate as a short range starfighter in low orbit.

The comforting blues and whites of the skies began giving way to the dark starry expanse of space as the secondary booster engines burned the last of their rocket fuel and gave out. For a brief moment, the Red Ranger wanted to just stare at the beauty of an endless sea of stars above him, but he had a task to complete. At that moment Lucy's voice came in over the radio, "We've got you on sensors Martin. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Luce," he said while arming the single missile loaded on the plane, "The missile is armed. Standby to fire in 10 seconds."

"This is insane! Detonating a nuke in space is going to cause a gigantic electromagnetic pulse," she warned with a worried edge in her voice, "There's a danger it might short out your own plane's life support!"

"A chance I have to take. Rerouting all auxiliary power to deflector shields. Say a prayer for me Luce."

"Martin!"

As the chronometer ran down to the final minute, the Red Ranger pressed the trigger on the joystick to fire the missile upwards from the planet while banking his fighter away to put some extra distance between them. The missile packed with fuel rods streaked a few thousand meters higher before it erupted into a spectacular starburst of light and heat. The atomic explosion sent massive shockwaves into space which caught the fighter in its wake and tossed it violently end over end. When the light and EM field began to subside, the battered Pegasus righted itself and peacefully drifted into low orbit over the planet.

The exhausted and equally battered Red Ranger sat back and gasped in relief at having survived what almost became a suicide mission. On the ship's console, Martin could see several secondary systems had shorted out and despite the depleted shields and moderate hull damage, the life support systems were still working. Minutes later, the radio crackled and the Ranger was greeted by a garbled message. It sounded like General Caldwell, "Nova 1… Nova 1… respond…"

"Atlantis Base, this is Sterling. I'm here. Mission accomplished."

"Acknowledged… good… stand by… bring you home," came the static filled reply.

As the Red Ranger sat back in the cockpit, he relaxed and let the plane drift peacefully in the heavens. As he admired the view of the blue earth below and the tapestry of stars above, he saw the electromagnetic radiation of the blast play with the planet's magnetic field and give rise to a stunning display of colorful auroras. Amid the light show, he thought about how glad he'd be to just see his team again… but in that moment of perfect beauty and tranquility in space, he hoped that they would just take their time. The threat of Hellspont and the Xeno Machina fleet seemed so far away but for now he'd be content to simply count his blessings and admire the view.

* * *

Upon coming home to a hero's welcome, a few days passed following the Ranger's narrow victory in Alaska. After an exhausting few days of debriefings, writing mission reports, and getting medical clearance from the base's hospital staff, Martin found himself finally free to relax and decompress. On that particular evening, he headed back up to the rooftops of the barracks to set up his telescope alone. He was looking forward to the opportunity to chart some new movements of the stars, but he was really hoping to catch some more colorful auroras in the sky as a result of the residual effects from the recent fuel rod explosion. Just as he finished setting up, he was surprised when he heard several other people climb the stairs and join him on the rooftops.

"Evening Captain… got your head in the clouds again?" the Blue Ranger said as he hobbled over while using a crutch. His injured leg had a cast, and while it was a little awkward, it didn't seem to bother the big burly German medic.

"Erik? Everyone? What are you doing here?" Martin asked in surprise.

"Erik told us you might need some company tonight," Bharata explained, "We were originally planning to go bowling in the West End, but we decided this is more important."

Erin nodded in agreement, "That's right. If we're going to be a real team, then we should start acting like one by doing more things together. What better way to start than by doing this… something that's important to you and something you can share with us."

Martin's expression softened and he placed a pensive hand on the telescope, "Listen guys… I appreciate the gesture but you really don't have to do this."

"We know sir, but you're stuck with us… whether you want to admit it or not" Ella laughed.

The Red Ranger sighed and shifted slightly, "Look everyone, I'll be honest… I'm not really good when it comes to things like expressing… oh…"

"Feelings?" Bharata supplied helpfully.

"Yeah… and I'm sure you guys know when it comes to casual time, I don't always have the best… err.."

"Social skills?" Erin teased gently with another smile.

"Sure… fine. Let's go with that," Martin replied while rolling his eyes, "The point I'm trying to make is that I'm just not used to having…"

"Friends?" Ella interjected.

"What? No! I have friends," Martin huffed defensively before giving a sheepish look and mumbling, "There's Lucy… Erik, Bharata, Erin, and you. It's the closest thing I have to…"

"A family?" Erik smiled.

"I'd do anything to protect any one of you," Martin said quietly, "If that meant sacrificing myself to do it … then I would."

"For what it's worth… I'm glad it didn't come to that sir," Erin said gently.

The Red Ranger looked to Erik first and then to the others, "How about calling me Martin… just when it's between the five of us, okay?"

Ella clasped her hands with a bright smile, "Aww! That's great! Now, what do you think about Marty?"

"I think you shouldn't push your luck," Martin replied as the rest of the team broke out into a chorus of merry laughter under the starry night skies.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Credit for this chapter's end goes to an adapted scene from Stargate Atlantis which has been an influence in this series.**

 **Hope you enjoyed these Ranger focus stories everyone. Coming up next is one more focus story for an important supporting character followed by a shift to the longer arc based plots. Thanks again for reading!**


	15. Human Error

**Mission 7: Part 1  
**

"Okay Julian, now adjust the power output a little bit more," Dr. Lucy Beckett said as her lab assistant cranked the power generator a little higher. As she studied the numbers coming in over her datapad, she eyed the lab table where a large blaster cannon sat plugged into the generator by a cord. She was simulating the flow and dispersal of electro particles to see if the new weapon she had developed would be ready for a field test. The figures of the Prism Cannon were good, but not exactly where she wanted them to be either. It could possibly work in battle, but it was still a little risky.

"Shut it down," Lucy said with a discouraged sigh as Julian obeyed her and powered down the cannon. She set down her work and removed her glasses, rubbing her eyes in mild frustration, "This is very annoying! I still can't seem to get this completely right."

Julian eyed the large cannon and sat down nearby, "Cheer up Dr. Beckett. We're getting pretty close. I'm still amazed you were able to get a working prototype going within a couple months of the Rangers finding that Adventi data cache."

Lucy put her glasses back on and brushed aside some of her dirty blonde hair which had fallen loose, "Well… all those alien schematics aren't going to do the Rangers much good if we don't figure out how to recreate some of that hardware."

The young lab assistant took up the data slate and gestured helpfully toward the door, "You've been at this for the last eighteen hours boss. You should probably take a breather and try looking at it with a fresh set of eyes tomorrow. I can stay here and keep working at some of the bugs until you return."

"Maybe you're right," Lucy sighed as she rose from her chair and shrugged off her labcoat.

Julian began poking around at one of the cannon's circuit boards, "I heard the Rangers were going to be hanging out in the West End today checking out that new bar and grill that opened up. I think it was called the Sundog."

Lucy eyed him as the young man continued with a sigh, "I wish I wasn't on duty today. I'd go join them... maybe show Erin some cool geometry tricks to use at the billiards table and..."

He paused, cleared his throat and focused again on his project, "You know what? Never mind. I'll just shut up and get back to work boss."

Lucy smiled slightly and shook her head to herself in amusement before leaving the lab. Had it really been eighteen hours? Time had really gotten away from her, she thought to herself as she passed through the bustling hallways of the base. There were times she could get so wrapped up in her projects that she'd forget to sleep or eat, but food in the West End did sound tempting. As she passed through the central base's main atrium, she looked up to the bright afternoon sunlight streaming down from the glass ceilings. Maybe her lab assistant was right. She could probably use a little fresh air and sunlight. With that, she strolled for the nearest monorail terminal and decided to try and join the Rangers at this new establishment.

* * *

The sounds of clinking glassware and the smell of good food wafted through the air as the five Nova Rangers sat together around a table in the Sundog bar. Despite the popularity of the new place, they had found a corner table to partake in some squad bonding time over some drinks and a game of poker. When Lucy walked in, she looked around and found the Rangers in the middle of a game so she walked over and sat down in an empty stool at the bar counter nearby. Aside from her rapport with Martin, the idea of fraternizing with the other Rangers still seemed a bit uncomfortable to her. She had a professional working relationship with the others and for the time being, she was comfortable with keeping it that way. To see the Red Ranger trying to bond more with them now seemed... well, strange to say the least.

From across the table, Erin eyed Erik and Martin then tossed in several more poker chips to raise the stakes of the game. Bharata and Ella grinned in amusement as they sat out the hand and watched the betting war escalate. "Well Captain... you're next. What'll it be?"

Martin slowly glanced at Erik and back to Erin, staring her down for a long moment. He idly tapped his finger several times on the table before finally giving a sigh and tossing his cards, "Shit. I fold too."

Erik smirked slightly and stared down his teammate but the Yellow Ranger wasn't giving any hints of what was in her hand. He matched her bet and kept his eyes fixed on her, "All right Reilly, I'm betting you've got nothing. I'm calling your bluff so show em."

Both Rangers showed their hands, Erin's Full House over Erik's Straight. The Blue Ranger stared in disbelief at the cards before giving a mild cuss in German and reaching for his mug of beer. "Damn it! I really thought we had her that time!"

The rest of the table broke out into laughter as Erin grinned and took a shot of Irish whiskey before shuffling the cards again, "You're gonna have to do better than that if you wanna beat me Dobermann. Now this next game is going to be called Read em and Weep..."

"I'm already weeping," Martin quipped with a small laugh as he divvied up his remaining chips between the others, "I'm going to count on you guys to win back the rest of my money from Patti McCardshark over there."

"Where are you going sir?" Bharata asked as he took up a new poker hand.

The Red Ranger gestured over toward the bar counter where Lucy was sitting alone eating a sandwich, "Off to keep a friend company."

As the game continued, Lucy glanced over and saw Martin calmly plop himself down on the barstool next to her. She kept a cool expression and watched her old friend, only to see a slight grin of amusement on his face as he said, "Eh... what's up Doc?"

Lucy sighed and shook her head with a mild smile, "For God's sake Martin, that's such a lame joke."

"But it never gets old, does it?" he replied gesturing for the bartender to pour him a small tumbler of whiskey.

She suppressed a chuckle while taking a bite of her late lunch, "You're not drunk, are you Captain Sterling?"

"Only buzzed... and it's okay. I'm off duty today," he replied as he paid for his drink, "You want anything?"

"You know I don't drink Martin," she said pointedly.

"Right... sorry," he said ordering her a glass of tropical fruit juice instead. Once she was served, he watched her finish the food before taking a sip of his drink, "Is everything okay Luce? You seem a little troubled."

She frowned slightly and took a sip of her juice, "Sorry, I was just thinking about a new weapon I was developing for you guys. I reverse engineered a high powered cannon but I just can't seem to work the bugs out."

"It's all right," he said gently, "It's not like you're under some time crunch here. I'm sure General Caldwell wouldn't want you to rush the development along either."

The scientist shook her head, "No Martin, you don't understand. Caldwell isn't putting pressure on me. I am. What if the Xenos attack again and the Rangers get in a bind? What if you guys need my new weapon in a life or death battle but I can't deliver?"

"That's a lot of what-if's Lucy," Martin said calmly, "Regardless of whether or not your weapon is field worthy, we'll do what humans have always been good at doing... adapting and finding a new way to survive."

"You seem awfully confident in that new team of yours," Lucy noted as she placed a gentle hand on his wrist, "They're starting to grow on you. I can tell you've been acting a little differently."

They stopped as they heard another rowdy exchange at the card table nearby as Erin won another big hand and more drinks were passed around. Martin gave Lucy's hand a little pat as he rose from the bar counter, "Come on Luce. Why don't you join us? They're a fun group and Lord knows it's been a long time since either of us have really had any of it. Maybe let them get to know you a little bit too?"

She gave a conflicted look to her friend before grimacing and turning away, "I don't know Martin... maybe another time. I've been working late and I need to rest. I... thanks for the company."

The Red Ranger quietly watched her head out of the bar and shook his head slightly before getting pulled back to the table by Ella for another round of cards and beer.

* * *

A few days passed and Dr. Lucy Beckett sat tensely at her control station in the Command Tower of Atlantis Base. From her forward position in the base's Operations room, she watched as the Nova Rangers charged into battle against the newest threat sent by the Xeno Machina aliens. Hurried chatter from other controllers and combat operators filled the air as General Caldwell sat calmly at his own station directing the flow of information while issuing battle orders.

While many around the world had begun to recognize the way that the Nova Rangers would quickly respond to attacks and deal with the alien menaces, they often didn't realize the great efforts of the UNAF support staff helping facilitate the battle. Combat controllers helped navigate and coordinate allied troops on the ground while dealing with civilian evacuations and temporary shutdowns of utilities. Engineers stood ready to man the Orbital Relays and provide the Rangers with any additional weapons or gear they might need. From her console alongside the general, Lucy had a full panoply of tactical information, communications, vital signs of the Rangers, and scanning equipment to help give the team the edge they needed so that they could focus on the battle while the base support staff could deal with everything else.

Right now, a battle was raging on the streets of Mumbai India as platoons of UNAF soldiers fought to dislodge small pockets of Xeno troops while the Rangers tangled with a giant heavily armored biomechanical monster. Unlike some of the recent humanoid commanders, the enemy assault was being driven by a large mechanical spider-crab type horror which tore through the streets with its multiple legs and blasted gouts of super-heated plasma from it's maw. Chaos was beginning to ensue as civilian casualty reports started coming in with dozens already killed.

"Did I ever tell you guys I hate spiders?" Erin muttered over her comm as the team of now morphed Rangers regrouped and drew their blasters.

"Cut the chatter Lieutenant. Let's see if we can't slow this thing down," Martin called as they all opened fire in unison. The Rangers' volley of powerful blaster shots hammered the spider-crab's forward armor but Lucy watched as the creature's hull deflected the main brunt of the attack.

"Rangers, your blaster pistols barely registered any visible damage on that machine's armor. I'm reading high levels of radio signals coming from the center of it's armored thorax so that's where we need to strike. I'm guessing it's being remotely controlled and that area is it's nerve center. I'm sending you the new tactical data, but you're going to need to use more concentrated energy weapons."

"The Nova Strikers?" Bharata asked as he drew his, "I'm not sure we're going to be able to get close enough. This is going to be like trying to slay a huge dragon."

Martin nodded, "Split up everyone. Erin and I will draw that thing's attention. Erik, set up a vault attack and take a shot at that thing!"

The Rangers split out wide and quickly changed tactics. While the Red and Yellow Rangers continued to pelt the large spider-crab with blaster fire, Erik and Bharata flanked the beast and locked wrists to set up Ella for a flying attack. While the monster was distracted, Ella ignited her Nova Striker and vaulted high off the other male Rangers to try and get at the huge war machine's thorax. As she grabbed on, she gasped when the monster bucked violently and reared up on its multiple legs which caused her lose her grip. The Pink Ranger tumbled into a recovery roll only managing to slash at the beast's side with a glancing blow.

"Okay… new plan?" Erik called as the Rangers all tumbled away from a great sweeping blow by one of the spider-crab's giant forward pincer claws.

Lucy watched the continued destruction of the city and the deteriorating situation as the Rangers were forced back on defense. She looked up and turned to Caldwell, "General… I'd like to try and use the new Prism Cannon. I think it might work here."

The older commander grimaced at his console, "It hasn't been field tested yet doctor. What if something goes wrong?"

"The Rangers are in trouble sir. I know it's a gamble, but I'm confident in my work," Lucy replied as she narrowed her eyes with a determined look. "It's not going to let them down. Please General…"

Caldwell glanced over and listened to the chaos that was barely being controlled by the staff in the tower before he gave a quick nod, "All right Beckett. We'll try it your way."

Lucy nodded in thanks before she reached for her controls and adjusted her headset, "Rangers, regroup and standby for transport. I'm sending you the newest addition to your arsenal: the Prism Cannon."

She flipped a few switches and patched into Engineering, "Julian, deploy the cannon."

"Boss, are you sure? We haven't…"

Beckett shook her head, "We don't have time to debate! The Rangers are in trouble!"

"Understood. The cannon is ready to go," came the immediate reply of her aide.

From her console monitor, Lucy watched as the Rangers gathered and received the sleek futuristic cannon in three parts which automatically fused together. In each of the Rangers' hands were small canisters with headers that had also been teleported to them. The cylinders glowed in different colors corresponding to their Ranger suits.

"Whoah! Nice hardware Doctor B!" Erik exclaimed as the Rangers all took up positions to secure and aim their field gun.

Lucy clutched her headset, "Rangers, this is your Prism Cannon, an adapted Adventi weapon. If you combine those energy batteries, it should have enough power to penetrate that thing's defenses. You'll only get one shot at a time though."

"You heard the lady everyone. Let's lock and load," Martin answered as he plugged in his battery charger. Everyone followed suit and watched as the gun's systems powered up to a full charge. As the giant spider-crab approached and smashed the corner of a small building, the Nova Rangers took aim with their weapon.

"Let's hope this works," Erin muttered through gritted teeth as she heard the Red ranger shout and pull the trigger.

"Fire!"

Everyone watched as the cannon ignited and a brilliant white burst of supercharged positron particles exploded from the barrel. To the Rangers' shock, they felt an electrical jolt from the cannon as a power surge went through it causing a malfunction. The recoil threw the aim off slightly and slammed the end of the gun hard into the shoulder of the surprised Pink Ranger. Ella gave a surprised cry of pain and stumbled over while the positronic blast went wide and missed the head of the mechanical spider-crab. Instead, the stray shot clipped two of the monster's large metallic legs and blew them off at the joint. To everyone's horror, the monster listed sideways having been knocked off balance and plowed into another apartment building nearby, likely inflicting a number of civilian casualties.

"Damn it! Fall back!" Martin shouted at the top of his lungs as the wounded beast fired another gout of plasma along the pavement. While he, Erin, and Bharata hoisted the faulty cannon and retreated to cover, Erik scooped up the injured Ella and helped carry her toward the others.

From her station in Ops, Lucy could only stand frozen in a state of almost catatonic disbelief. Her weapon had failed badly. It had injured a Ranger. Worst of all, the unexpected consequence may have gotten some civilians killed in that ruined building too. This was almost unthinkable for her. She was frozen and didn't know what to do. At that moment, Caldwell took control and barked out an order in a loud voice, "Tactical Station, call in a surgical airstrike! We need to try and cripple that thing before it causes any more damage to the city!"

Lucy stared dumbly at her screen while one of the other combat controllers got on the radio and called in a strike. No sooner had the Rangers and their allied ground troops pulled back, a pair of local Pegasus fighters roared by overhead and fired missiles at the horrific war machine. The missiles struck dead center and staggered the Xeno spider-crab, causing more damage but still not penetrating its armor. Now exposed and suffering two damaged limbs, the giant war machine scuttled quickly to the side and made its escape diving into the waters of the ocean nearby.

A chorus of relieved sighs swept through the tower of Atlantis Base while the situation settled and a new set of response measures were enacted. Damage control, fire fighters, and search and rescue parties had to be organized to deal with the damage from the new alien attack. Martin's voice came through again, "General, enemy ground forces have withdrawn for now but Erik says Ella is hurt. Requesting immediate withdrawal back to base."

Caldwell gave a hard look toward Lucy before turning back to his own station and giving a nod, "Permission granted Captain. We'll see you soon."

How could she be so arrogant? Dr. Beckett slumped down in her seat and pulled off her glasses. She took a deep breath and tried to focus again on helping to clean up this new mess without screwing up again. For now, it was all she could do.


	16. Sins of the Father

**Mission 7: Part 2  
**

Lucy Beckett sat alone in her cold sterile lab late that evening when everyone else in the Engineering department had left for the day. The room was silent and as the young woman remained in place, she stared at the Prism Cannon sitting in front of her on the table. Its wiring and circuitry had been opened up again and gone over several times to work out bugs and repair the critical malfunctions that had nearly put the Rangers in danger earlier that day. The cannon was still far from workable and the combination of exhaustion and guilt over the day's events weighed heavily on her mind like an anchor. She took one more dejected glance over the gun before getting up and walking over to her desk. Using a key, she opened a side drawer and removed a bottle of vodka and placed it on her desk. She removed a shot glass and slowly poured some before sitting back in her chair, contemplating the bottle in front of her.

"I thought you don't drink," came the familiar voice of Martin as he entered the lab and startled Lucy. She sat upright and looked over in momentary surprise to see the Red Ranger walk in followed by the younger Yellow Ranger Erin Reilly.

"I don't," Lucy replied darkly as she sat back again and let the two Rangers pull up chairs across from her, "I was just thinking."

"About your father?" Martin asked quietly as Erin cast a curious look to her commander. Lucy grimaced and remained quiet with a nod.

"I heard about what happened earlier," Martin began slowly, "I wanted to see how you were holding up. If you were working, I brought Erin along to help translate any other Adventi schematics."

Lucy let out a sigh, "It's fine Martin. Thank you. I was working but this is something I need to do myself. I made a costly mistake today and I've got to fix it myself."

The Rangers sat quietly and glanced at the vodka bottle again before Martin cleared his throat, "You know… this is still unhealthy. You may not actually be drinking it, but you're still behaving like him right now."

Lucy scowled as a dark shadow of anger crossed her face, "Don't go there Martin."

Erin hesitantly watched the tense standoff before shifting uncomfortably in her seat, "Okay… I'm not sure what's going on here. Why did Dr. Beckett pour a shot if she's not going to drink it?"

"I do it to remind myself of what I shouldn't do… and to remind myself that I need to focus," Lucy replied with a firm and level tone.

The Yellow Ranger glanced to her superior officer for clarification, "Sir?"

"After the failed run of the Alpha Ranger tech several years ago, Lucy's dad Dr. Andrew Beckett… well, he took it hard and didn't cope well."

"What do you expect?" Lucy replied to Martin petulantly, "The weapons failed to work in battle. The other Rangers were all killed and you were hospitalized for months. Of course he blamed himself."

Erin remained quiet as Martin continued somberly, "Over the next couple years, Andrew Beckett fell apart. The guy who led the way with adapting Adventi technology and advancing humanity just lost it. He couldn't take the blame and scrutiny from the rest of the military and scientific community so he gave up and drank himself to death."

"I'm sorry…" Erin finally said, taken aback by such a grim somber story.

"Why should you be?" Lucy replied bitterly musing to herself, "Dad failed and ruined his good name. I was still in grad school at the time and he left me all by myself. I'm only glad my mom wasn't alive to be hurt like that too."

The Yellow Ranger cast a sympathetic look, "Doctor…"

"Now you understand," Lucy said grimly as she held up the shot glass and studied it, "About why I'm here. I'm working to atone for him and to make up for all of his mistakes… for all the people who died as a result of those failures. Everyone's looking at me the same way now... watching... wondering if the daughter of the great Andrew Beckett can even measure up to his legacy."

After a long pause, she gave another sardonic snort, "Besides, it's not like we women are always accepted into the big scientific circles and think tanks to begin with. As if I didn't already have enough to deal with at the time."

Erin nodded quietly in understanding, knowing how she had faced some similar discrimination in the field of academia before enlisting. Lucy tilted the glass in her hand, "That's why I refuse to touch this stuff… I'm not going to dull my mind to the very thing that killed my father. I'm not going to go down the same path."

Martin cleared his throat, "Maybe… but you shouldn't be too hard on yourself either. It's not going to do you a whole lot of good dwelling on every mistake that you've made."

"What about you Martin?" she snapped back irritably, "You're a squad commander now. You know about pain and loss and regret. Are you just supposed to forget about it when you make a mistake like this?"

"No, but you're supposed to learn from it," he answered with surprising calmness, "I've made mistakes too… ones that I regret. Hell, I'd be lying if I said I still didn't feel some remorse over not being able to do anything to save my old team, but since I've taken the position of command I've learned something important. If you blame yourself for every little thing and let it get to you, then you won't be able to keep a clear head and that's when you make bad decisions that really do get people killed."

"So what are you supposed do?" Lucy insisted as her mind still struggled for a logical answer to all this.

The two Rangers exchanged a look before Erin offered a solution, "You remember that we're a team and that we all make mistakes. It's up to the rest of us to adjust and help fix the error so that we can win."

Lucy thought it over for a long time before finally putting the glass down and closing the bottle. She handed it to the Red Ranger, "Captain… would you please do me a big favor and get rid of this? Maybe toss it into the ocean for me?"

"I'd be happy to Doctor," he said while taking the bottle with a gentle smile, "Erin?"

The younger Ranger took the filled shot glass and quickly threw the vodka back in her throat. The Red Ranger narrowed his eyes into a mildly reproving frown as she sheepishly grinned and exaggerated the lilt in her Irish accent. "Sorry sir. Tis me old Irish instincts kickin' in again. Can't let a perfectly good glass of booze go to waste now, can we?"

He rolled his eyes gently and pointed her toward the door while Lucy stood up, "Well… I've got one other little personal thing to take care of tonight. Martin? Erin? Thank you for being good friends."

The Red Ranger gave her a small salute and headed out the door, "Good night Luce. We'll see you at zero nine hundred tomorrow."

Once the two Rangers had left, the young engineer looked about her empty lab and rolled up the sleeves of her white blouse with a renewed sense of purpose. She had a lot of work to do.

* * *

The next morning, a bleary eyed Lucy walked into the large crowded mess hall of the base and gave a tired yawn. Unable to find any open spots at the edges of the room, she spotted Erik, Ella, and Bharata sitting together eating breakfast at a small table. She approached hesitantly with her plate of toast and fruit and cleared her throat, "Err… excuse me everyone. Is this seat taken?"

The Green Ranger gestured to an open seat while Erik took another moment to fuss over the sling that kept Ella's left arm in place. Lucy grimaced slightly and gave a guilty look toward the Pink Ranger, "So… how's the arm?"

"I'll be fine," Ella replied, "Thanks to our Ranger suits, I've only picked up a bad shoulder bruise. The doctors said I should be good in a couple weeks."

The scientist nodded and nibbled at her meal, "Well… I'm still sorry about that. I didn't mean for you to get hurt."

Ella shook her head gently, "It's not your fault Dr. B. These things happen in battle. We can't always predict what's going to happen or keep from getting injured."

"Well, it would make my job a little easier if you could," Erik quipped earning him a light elbow in the ribs.

Bharata gave a thoughtful look and took a sip of orange juice before trying to change the subject, "Any progress on repairing that Prism Cannon? Even if it's still kinda glitchy right now, it's a pretty awesome weapon."

Lucy sighed tiredly, "Honestly, I stayed up all last night trying to make repairs and modifications. I'd say it's probably ninety percent reliable but I'm going to need a little more time to perfect it."

"Fair enough, but I still think you should try to get a little sleep later," Erik noted in concern, "You look exhausted."

"I appreciate the concern Lieutenant, but I can rest when the imminent threat is over. That Xeno war machine hasn't resurfaced again in India, has it?"

"Not yet," the Green Ranger said, "I'm surprised that thing's been able to stay off our radars as long as it has."

"I'm even more surprised Dr. Beckett came to sit with us this morning," Ella chimed in as she finished a small bowl of granola and yogurt. "No offense Doc. Both you and Martin were kinda distant and cold when we all were getting acquainted at the start. We weren't sure if you guys liked us or anything because you'd always be sitting off on your own."

"No. It's not that," Lucy replied in slight discomfort, "I just… he spoke to me recently and said that I should maybe try to sit down with the team every once in a while. You guys seem to have had a positive effect on him and he figured it might be good for me too… to get out and socialize a little bit more."

Bharata nodded, "You two seem to have a lot of trust and you confide in each other quite a bit."

"He and I have known each other for many years. We've helped each other get through some really hard times, especially in the wake of the last Xeno invasion five years ago."

Before she could go on, a warning klaxon sounded which signaled another Xeno attack and spurred many of the base personnel to respond. As many people in the mess hall jumped to their feet, Erik gave the others a pointed look and took charge, "All right everyone. That's our cue so let's get to it!"

* * *

As expected, the Xeno spider-crab had returned to the city of Mumbai along with a fresh contingent of enemy Eidolon foot soldiers to back it up. While the Xeno troops began a fierce firefight with UN soldiers and local Indian defense forces, the Nova Rangers deployed out to stop the menacing war machine. From her station in Ops, Lucy monitored the flow of battle as the Eidolan platoons fell back and the giant spider crab advanced to try and break through the UN defense line. The human soldiers regrouped into heavy cover and waited fearfully until they saw the five Nova Rangers teleport in and charge forward to meet the enemy while brandishing their morphers.

" _Energize_!" they cried in unison as they emerged from a bright colorful nimbus of light in their sleek battle suits.

The giant mechanical spider-crab was not impressed and raised its claw-like pincers menacingly. Bharata eyed the huge monstrosity and scratched his chin, "You know what would come in handy right about now? A huge battle droid of our own so that we could squash that bug."

"I'm afraid we'll have to make due Bara," Martin answered tensely as he turned to his second in command, "Erik? Any good ideas?"

The Blue Ranger kept a level gaze, "Just one sir. I say we try the Prism Cannon again. It's not perfect, but Dr. B. said that she worked out most of the flaws this morning."

The Red Ranger paused in surprise, not only at the recommendation but unaware that Lucy had indeed pulled an all-nighter to try and help the Rangers be battle ready.

"It's worth a shot," Erin called, "You trust her too, don't you Captain?"

"With my life," he replied with a quick nod while deciding to trust the judgment of his teammates too, "All right. Atlantis Base, we're going to need to pull out the heavy artillery on this one."

"Understood Rangers. Prism Cannon is in transport now," General Caldwell responded from his own console, "Captain… are you really sure about this?"

"We need something strong enough to take that monster down and we don't have the luxury to be picky sir," Martin answered as the cannon was teleported to the battlefield and instantaneously assembled. The Rangers immediately gathered around it and braced themselves for loading and aiming while the Xeno spider-crab drew close. It hobbled on its two damaged legs but began to rear up threateningly.

"Wait! The cannon isn't fully calibrated yet," Lucy said in concern as she frantically worked to adjust the weapon's auto firing solutions that were linked to the Rangers' HUD's.

"Don't worry Doc. You're forgetting that we're a team," Erin smiled as she helped to shift the aim of the cannon off center, "We'll adapt and fix each others mistakes, remember?"

The other Rangers grinned and nodded as they made the proper adjustments, "We've got your back Dr. B." Erik said before giving Martin a nod, "The weapon is loaded and ready to fire, sir!"

"Fire!"

Lucy watched in astonishment as the Rangers fired the Prism Cannon and unleashed another supercharged burst of white energy at the giant Xeno war machine. Because the Rangers had been compensating and made adjustments for the recoil and imperfect targeting systems, the cannon shot was right on target this time and lanced through the spider-crab's defenses. The positron beam of white hot light struck the mechanical beast's armored head and tore a gaping hole through the back of its central thorax where its vital control systems were located.

Everyone watched as the giant mechanical spider crab shuddered and listed drunkenly from side to side before its systems died out completely. Secondary explosions tore through the monster's interior hull and blew out gaping holes from its thorax and abdomen. The Rangers and the combat operators at Atlantis Base all gave jubilant cheers as they watched the war machine's spider legs crumple and the central body collapse under its own weight. Moments later, it erupted into one more fireball signaling the death of the Xeno war machine on the ruined city streets.

Bharata gave Erin a high five while Erik excitedly pumped his fists in the air. The Red Nova Ranger tapped his comm with a quiet smile and looked up to the brightening skies, "Nova Squad to General Caldwell, the target has been neutralized. I repeat, the target has been neutralized."

Caldwell grinned in relief and tapped his comm bead, "Roger that Captain. Well done."

As Lucy rose from her station and slightly raised her own headset, she saw Caldwell give a proud nod and a thumbs up before a radio transmission came in to her from the Red Ranger, "Dr. Beckett? Thanks for the assist out there. We never doubted you."

As she put down her headset, the scientist did something which was a rare sight for her. She began to smile from ear to ear as she looked toward the bright warm redeeming light of sun streaming in through the tower windows.

* * *

Early the next evening, Lucy made her way back to the Sundog Tavern in the West End to attend an unusual social outing with the other Nova Rangers. They had wanted to treat her out for a night of fun and to show their appreciation for all her help in the recent battles too. As she made her way down the recreation district's parks and walkways which had built-in lights, she wondered what to expect. Ever since she was in college, she had never been much for parties preferring quiet nights in to study or to work on projects in the lab. To go out socializing in casual clothes was kind of a rare occurrence for her. Tonight, she had decided on a pair of dark jeans, a slim white turtleneck, and a stylish gray jacket.

When she reached the busy tavern, she found the other Rangers already there and dressed down to their own casual civvies as well. Again, it was a bit jarring to see the Rangers swapping their military duty uniforms for blue jeans and sporty casual clothes instead. Erik was the first to greet her near the counter as he raised a mug of pilsner beer, "Hey! The woman of the hour. Glad you could make it Dr. B!"

Bharata got up from his seat and offered it to her gallantly as she approached, "Come on in. We saved you a seat."

She gave a sheepish look, unsure of what to do or say as the others came to crowd around and greet her, "Umm... thanks everyone. I wasn't expecting any kind of special treatment here tonight. I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Martin said with a gentle smile as he put his hands reassuringly on her shoulders, "Just let these four jokers do their thing and laugh every once in a while to make them think they're actually funny."

"Ohh, you're hysterical Captain," Ella retorted as she gently bumped him aside with her hip and patted Lucy's shoulder with her good arm which wasn't in a sling, "Maybe you could start by sitting with Erin and I for a little bit of girl talk. Or maybe you could tell us where you got your great fashion sense? I'm really liking that preppy ensemble you've got going on tonight."

"Really? You do?" Lucy asked in surprise.

"Of course!" Ella grinned proudly, "I'm Italian remember? We pride ourselves on dressing well!"

The Yellow Ranger cut in and put a friendly arm over Ella's shoulders, "Hey Catalano! Before we do that, what do you say I buy Dr. Beckett a soft drink with some of the poker money that I won from Captain Sterling this week?

Martin gave the younger Ranger a playful shove and the others broke out into another round of laughter. As she sat and listened to the team banter some more, Lucy tried to take in the sight of the other Rangers acting so easy and relaxed outside of their military duties. The chemistry of this Ranger team had really begun to come together and there seemed to be something special there. As she watched Martin joke some more with Erik and then get gently razzed again by the girls, Lucy couldn't help but think about how the team had slowly begun to change him for the better.

Maybe she should try to follow her friend's example and make a few changes for the better too. Before this new campaign against the Xenos, it had been a bit lonely and dreary before the coming of the other Rangers. If having the opportunity to laugh and smile again in the company of friends was going to be a part of this new start... well, it wasn't a bad thing. If Dr. Beckett was going to be totally honest with herself, she would admit that moments like this were something that made all the fighting and the long hours in the lab all the more worthwhile.


	17. Blindside

**Mission 8: Part 1  
**

Warmaster Hellspont waited patiently in the command chair of his dimly lit flagship as the newest data reports came in from his subordinates. From the Xeno Machina base on the far side of the moon, a large number of alien troops and ships waited in the dark lunar shadows while final preparations were made. Before he could scroll through another report, the biomechanical general glanced upwards as his forward viewscreen lit up and an audio transmission of the monstrous Xeno Machina Overlord Phaeton came through. The massive being made of machines and organics which had been fused to the core the ship spoke in his deep thundering voice, "Warmaster. The time draws near. What is your progress?"

The general rose slowly and set his datapad down, "Lord Phaeton, everything is going as planned. The assault forces and landing parties are ready for the signal."

"And what about the saboteurs on the planet?"

Hellspont nodded, "We've landed a number of our small covert teams on Earth during the last several raids. They've set up the subspace emitter towers and are preparing to coordinate the signals."

The Overlord's voice rumbled, "This plan is ambitious Warmaster, but it carries great risk. Creating interlocking subspace folds to this degree still carries a moderate probability of secondary problems."

"Within reasonable limits my lord," Hellspont responded, "Our engineers believe this plan will work and so do I. Once the emitter towers activate and link their signals, they'll be able to open up large pockets of folded space allowing us to directly transport our forces from the moon to the planet."

"A creative way to circumvent the Terrans' orbital defense guns," Phaeton admitted, "But their armies will eventually respond."

Hellspont smiled, "True, but only in a limited capacity. When we activate our emitter towers on the planet, the signals will temporarily disrupt many of the planet's sensors giving us a brief window of opportunity to strike while they are blind. I will send a small task force of our ships to draw the Terrans' attention to space while our ground units teleport and move in for the kill."

The Overlord made one final transmission before signing off, "You are committing a great deal of resources to this operation Warmaster. See to it that it succeeds."

The Warmaster paused and gathered his thoughts before giving a resolved nod toward one of the cybernetic bridge servitors, "Signal the fleet and raise alert status of the ground forces. in 48 hours, the operation will commence."

* * *

The chill of the early spring season hung in the air as dim rays of sunlight struggled to fight past the gray clouds above Atlantis Base. The ocean was choppy that day and the waves splashed loudly against the floating city's piers while pristine white icebergs floated by in the distant waters. Despite the unpleasant weather outside, Erik Dobermann milled about his quarters taking some time to clean his room. While he tidied the place up, he cheerfully sang along to a German opera called the Magic Flute while it played from the speakers of his computer.

He grinned while singing the part of the bumbling bird man Papageno in his deep baritone voice as the cheery music of Mozart continued to play. When he turned around with a handful of dirty laundry, he stopped singing in surprise when he found Erin leaning in the corner of the doorway. The Yellow Ranger's arms were crossed and she wore an amused smile, Aww, why did you stop? You were just getting to the good part."

"Erin? How long have you been there?" Erik huffed in embarrassment as he quickly stuffed his dirty laundry in the hamper and turned the music off.

"Long enough," the young Irish woman chuckled as she entered the room, "I actually didn't know there were any pleasant sounding German operas. Whenever I speak the language, I always feel like I'm threatening to kill somebody instead."

"German is not an angry language… just misunderstood" Erik sighed, "Now do you mind? I was planning to make a video call to my daughter soon."

"Sorry boss. Sarah will have to wait today," Erin said as she clapped the shoulder of the squad's XO, "I actually came by to get you. Caldwell called an impromptu squad meeting in half an hour."

Erik gave a discouraged sigh and closed his laptop. It seemed that the video call would have to wait after all. He nodded and began to follow the Yellow Ranger out of the room, "By the way Reilly, as your senior officer I'm giving you a direct order to not tell anybody about this. You know that, right?"

"My lips are sealed sir."

A little while later, the two Rangers headed to one of the large briefing rooms of the central base where they joined the rest of their teammates along with General Caldwell and another soldier wearing the distinct black uniform of a STARCOM trooper, an elite special forces wing of the UNAF. He was a tall handsome young man who was about the same general age of the Rangers. He was fair featured with a broad muscular build and an imposing look in his eye. General Caldwell cleared his throat as everyone turned their attention to him.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice Rangers. I wanted to introduce you to Captain Jeffery Austin of the American Marine Corps. He commands a detachment of the Special Tactical Assault and Recon Commandos."

Austin sat up straight and gave a crisp nod toward the others while still wearing his stoic expression. Caldwell continued, "At present, the UN has been changing the deployment of its forces in the wake of the alien attacks these last few months. As you can imagine, there's been a lot of shifting of units around and Captain Austin's company has been one such unit. They're going to be temporarily based here for the time being while their orders are being sorted out."

"If I may, what does all this have to do with us General?" Erik asked curiously.

"I decided that Nova Squad might benefit from some friendly joint training exercises with the STAR troops. They've been proving themselves to be very effective against the other Xeno incursions across the world of late."

Captain Austin smirked slightly, "Thank you General. The STARs will be more than happy to help bring Nova Squad up to scratch as an elite combat unit too."

"Up to scratch?" Ella interjected with a defensive edge in her voice, "Are you saying we're not an elite unit too?"

Austin regarded her with an indifferent glance, "You Rangers may have faced some dangerous Xeno field commanders, but you've all been fighting with the benefit of your combat suits and your special weaponry. We STARs don't have those luxuries and we don't need them to defeat our enemies either. It's all a matter of superior skill, discipline, and aggression."

"I think you left out inflated egos too," Bharata muttered but he was silenced by a stern look from Martin. The Red Ranger grimaced, clearly unhappy with the current situation and having his team insulted, but he opted for diplomacy.

"If the General feels it's a good idea, then we look forward to the war-games."

Caldwell nodded and rose from his seat, "Very good. Nova Squad, you are dismissed. I've still got a few more matters to discuss with Captain Austin here."

The Rangers rose and saluted before heading out the door toward the central atrium of the base. While they walked together, they all wore sour faces and muttered amongst themselves. Erin was the first to give a huff, "Can you believe that guy? I mean, I know STAR troopers are good and all, but what a colossally arrogant asshole."

Bharata sighed, "Well, I guess it's kinda to be expected. The guy is an American after all."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Martin frowned indignantly.

"Don't misunderstand us sir," Ella said gently, "What we mean is that Captain Austin strikes us as someone who represents a lot of the bad things we think about some of the people from your country. For example, you guys can sometimes be kinda pushy and overly competitive."

"You guys often think the world revolves around you and disregard what the rest of our countries think," Bharata added.

"Don't forget being prideful, aggressive, and zealously patriotic too," Erin chimed in.

The Red Ranger waved a hand in exasperation, "Okay! Okay! Geez, I get it! But you guys don't have a problem with Lucy or I."

"Don't worry Captain. We actually like the two of you, as well as most of the other Americans serving here on the base. You guys really aren't like that," Erik said trying to calm everyone down, "Bottom line, I think the general squad consensus is that we don't like Captain Austin very much."

Martin shrugged and clapped Erik's shoulder, "Well, I'm not too thrilled about training with him either... especially after he dumped on you guys back there. But you heard the General. We'll just have to keep an open mind and try to be gracious winners... that is when we show up the STARs during the joint exercises."

Erik looked at him in surprise and began to laugh while they headed back toward their quarters, "Ah... there's that old American hubris showing up again. Why am I not surprised?"

* * *

The tall golden grasses of the Serengeti Plains swayed gently in the wind as a small company of Xeno Machina foot soldiers finished the preparations on the subspace emitter tower they had built. From a distance, the sight of a large alien machine jutting out of the landscape looked completely out of place on the warm sunny grasslands of Africa. In the near distance, some zebra and gazelles grazed on some grass and paid the Xeno intruders no mind before moving on their way.

While the enemy soldiers continued to work, they got a small portable generator running in order to build up an electrical charge. As it energized, one of the Eidolon troopers looked to the squad's leader. "Are you really sure this is going to work sergeant?"

"It's got to," the alien sergeant replied as he monitored the rising power levels of their apparatus, "We've done our part and it's up to the other strike teams across the globe to have their towers ready. If we can establish this subspace field and link it to the others, there should be enough power to start directly teleporting our units from the moon over here."

"The Terrans won't know what hit them," the subordinate trooper smiled tensely from within his helmet as a structure on the top of the small alien tower began to open up and fan out like some kind of mechanical flower. A purplish glow began to emanate from the tower as the air rippled and the fabric of real space and subspace began to be manipulated. All over the world, Xeno Machina towers activated from the dense Amazon Rainforest to the sprawling Serengeti Plains to the rocky Steppes of Russia and so on. As each tower went online, the frequencies of their subspace signals resonated together and caused the areas around them to bend and distort ever so slightly.

From the plains of Russia, the highest ranking member of all the alien strike teams sent a transmission back to the moon while his own troops watched in awe at the sight unfolding before them, "Warmaster Hellspont? We've done it. A subspace fold has been successfully established. We are ready to receive the first wave of reinforcements."

And so it began at several points around the world where large numbers of Eidolon shock troops, drone soldiers, and heavy Xeno equipment began to be funneled through in preparation for a major ground attack on the planet. The aliens knew it was only a matter of time before the UNAF detected the unusual signals but by then it would be too late. The subspace field emitters would interfere with Earth's scanners and hopefully confuse the remaining defense fleet orbiting the planet as well. If all went according to plan, it would only be a matter of time now before the Terrans would be enveloped in a vicious surprise attack.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the safety of Atlantis Base the Green and Pink Nova Rangers took a leisurely walk around the West End after a little shopping trip. They had gone to buy some more cooking ingredients for another one of Ella's culinary experiments… or abominations depending upon one's point of view. While they strolled down a busy thoroughfare, Bharata took an apprehensive glance in the grocery bag that he was carrying for his friend, "Tuna fish, marshmallows, and picante salsa… do I even want to know what you're planning to make?"

"Not unless you want me to spoil it," Ella replied cheerily while failing to notice her teammate's mild grimace, "It's still a tossup between using them in quiche or a casserole. What do you think?"

"Uh... surprise me," the Green Ranger answered wryly.

As they continued on down the street lined by rows of shops, they came across a pair of black uniformed American STAR troopers strolling down the sidewalk. As they passed the Rangers, the two young special forces soldiers exchanged a look before turning around and following along. The first one, a Hispanic-American looking man sidled up alongside Ella and gave a suggestive smile, "Well hello there chiquita. Where are you off to in such a hurry today?"

Ella raised an eyebrow and gently brushed him off, "Off to do something much more interesting than talk to you. Excuse me."

The STAR trooper continued on and put a casual arm around the Pink Ranger's shoulder trying to flirt with her some more, "Oh come on now girl. I just want to talk. No harm in that, right?"

Ella patiently removed his hand and gave a level glare, "No... but let me make this clear. I'm not interested, okay?"

The soldier persisted until Bharata stepped forward and got in the way, "Listen friend, the lady asked you to leave her alone."

The STAR trooper growled, "I wasn't talking to you, you four eyed twerp. Get outta my face!"

He gave the Green Ranger a violent shove causing Ella to spring into action. She immediately stamped down on the trooper's foot with her own and then knocked the wind out of him with an elbow to the side. As the Hispanic man fell to his knees gasping, his companion, an African-American trooper moved to try and restrain Ella. No sooner had he reached out his arm was when Bharata swiftly seized his wrist and twisted the arm into a painful joint lock to force the other STAR trooper to the ground.

The trooper flailed helplessly for several moments before Bharata was surprised from behind and grabbed by a pair of strong hands. Having been caught off guard, Bharata was put in a tight headlock by a third burly STAR trooper who had arrived and Ella gasped as she recognized the face of Captain Jeffery Austin.

"Captain! Let go of him!" the Pink Ranger shouted in outrage while the other STARs recovered to their feet, angry at having been humiliated just now. Jeffery tightened his grip and scowled.

"Like hell I will Lieutenant! This guy attacked one of my men. You think I'm going to take that lying down?"

"Hey! Break it up!" came the angry shout of Martin followed by the other Rangers, "Captain Austin! Stand down right now!"

By now, other civilians on the street were stopping to stare at the unusual sight of a soldiers' scuffle out in the open. Erik and Erin immediately began to wave the onlookers off and get them on their way, "Come on! Clear out! Keep it moving, huh? Nothing to see here!"

Meanwhile, the Marine captain scowled again and shoved Bharata away, obeying only because Martin was technically senior to him in rank.

"Captain Sterling! Are we glad to see you!" Ella gasped in relief as the Rangers and the others STARs became locked in a sort of face-off in the streets.

"What the hell is going on here?" Martin demanded heatedly, "Were you two fighting just now?"

Bharata raised a hand, "Sir, we can explain. The facts is..."

"The fact is that your officers attacked my men and they should be punished," Austin cut in angrily, "Your squad has no discipline and they're not reflecting well on you right now Sterling."

The Red Ranger glared angrily at the captain of the STARs as the conflict began escalating more, "We're here to break up a fight Captain, not start another one. But if that's what you're asking for..."

The standoff was interrupted as emergency warning sirens began to sound and the Rangers' Nova Morphers went off. Whatever differences the two squads of soldiers were having, it would have to wait.

"We'll sort this out later," Jeffery said pointedly to Martin, "Right now, I think our troops should take out some of this pent up aggression on the Xenos instead. Don't you think?"

"Fine by me."

Jeffery stopped a moment more as his own troops hurried off to suit up and prepare for battle, "Oh, and Captain? I think we can count this as our first joint training exercise. Be sure to have your people pay attention. Like I said, I have no doubt they might learn a thing or two."

As the STARs departed, the other Rangers waited as Martin wore a scowl and clenched a fist. Erik hesitantly, cleared his throat, "Everything okay boss?"

"Erin was right. That guy is a colossal asshole," the Red Ranger muttered, "All right squad. Let's get moving and suit up already! I want us to be the first ones on the next battlefield. Got it?"

Not surprisingly... there were no objections to that sentiment at all.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Lots of thanks to all the people still following along here! Now begins a shift into the somewhat longer arc based plots. In this first major plot, I'm going to be playing fast and loose again with some theoretical science, especially as it relates to subspace, dimensional folds, relativity, and all that jazz. If Star Trek can get away with it and still tell a cool story, then I'll see if I can't do it too.**


	18. Shockwave

**Mission 8: Part 2  
**

Tall dark plumes of smoke spiraled up into the skies as the sounds of explosions and weapons fire filled the air of Kursk, Russia. In a flash, the Rangers of Nova Squad were teleported from the transit platform of Atlantis Base to the small Russian city which had devolved into a warzone. No sooner had the Rangers been sent, several fresh platoons of UNAF soldiers arrived on aerial troop transports to help support the Russian military forces who were holding the line against the mass of Xeno Machina invaders. Right on the heels of the Rangers, Captain Jeffery Austin and his company of STAR troopers teleported in and took to the field as well.

At the moment, the situation was looking grim. The small city had become a hotly contested battleground with the alien invaders holding the southern half while the UN forces repulsed them from the northern end. Despite having initially been caught off guard, the local Russian forces had fallen back and put up a stubborn defense until help began to arrive. Although they had been given a very quick rundown of the situation, the Rangers were all shocked that the Xenos had been able to slip by the planet's defenses and begin launching massive ground attacks.

"How the hell did this happen?" Ella remarked in dread as the top of a distant bell tower exploded in a cloud of flames and pebbles, "Where did all these Xenos come from?"

"I agree. It doesn't make sense. If the initial reports are right, how are they landing whole companies at a time?" Bharata mused while the team hurried to the frontlines to assist in the city's defense.

Martin wore a grim face as he loaded a fresh power pack into his rifle, "We'll worry about that later team. Right now we have to try and halt the enemy advance here. If the Xenos break through Kursk, they'll have a direct route north to attack the capital of Moscow. We can't let that happen."

Upon nearing the front lines on the city, the Rangers waded through rubble and several bombed out buildings where the local civilians had fled from. Here and there smoldering fires burned intermittently while bodies of human soldiers and Xeno troopers lay scattered about an open plaza up ahead. From the looks of it, the clearing had become a no man's land as a result of the back and forth fighting.

At the forward barricades, the Rangers were met by an older UNAF Major with a Russian flag patch on his shoulder. His face was covered in grime and he looked as grizzled as his troops who were presently keeping the invaders from advancing any further.

"Sir, I'm Captain Martin Sterling of Nova Squad. We're here to help," the Red Ranger began with a salute as the rest of his team nodded.

"Captain Jeffery Austin, 9th STAR company also here to assist sir," the STAR commander added as his team joined the others on the battle line.

The Russian commander sighed and pulled out a map while everyone knelt into cover at the sound of mortar fire. "I'm Major Mikhail Petrov and I am glad to see you guys. Our units have checked the Xeno advance in this sector but it looks like they may be massing their strength to make a push soon. So far the aliens are dug in up ahead and the alleyways of the city are too narrow for us to get any heavy armor or artillery through."

Captain Austin squinted through the smokey warzone and tried to survey the ruined terrain, "We may be able to make a countermove here but we need to find out where the main line of alien troops and equipment is coming from. If we can cut them off, it may help hamstring their offensive."

"Agreed," Martin nodded as he tapped his comm, "Atlantis Base, we need a better look at the map. Do we have eyes on a viable target?"

Back in the base, Lucy furiously worked her keyboard and went through sensor data. She stopped a moment when she picked up an odd reading on her console. "Captain... our sensors are picking up something funny. I'm reading unusually concentrated subspace signals coming from the southern edge of Kursk. They seem to be distorting all the particles of the area and making it hard to get a clear read on it. There's an odd circular movement suggesting polarized waves of..."

"In simple English Lucy. We're a little short on time here," Martin prompted.

"Right... I'm guessing the Xenos are using devices to create dimensional folds... miniature wormholes to bend realspace and let them travel about. What a remarkable application, don't you think?"

An explosion went off nearby blasting back a few UNAF soldiers. Erik immediately rushed over and pulled out his medkit to help patch up one of the injured soldiers who had taken shrapnel in his arm. Major Petrov scowled, "So that's how they're doing it? Our objective will be to hit those positions generating those portals."

"I'm sending you five the general location of the subspace anomalies," Lucy said to the Rangers,

"I can't lock on specifically because those waves are jamming our sensors and it's only getting worse. Right now, Caldwell says the fleet and the orbital guns upstairs have been temporarily blinded."

Erin pounded her fist, "Okay. Then we don't have a lot of time to waste. The sooner we can knock those generators out, the better."

The Red Ranger surveyed the battlefield again as a new volley of blaster fire erupted between the two sides, "Okay. We'll make a straight run and knife our way through the Xeno line. Ella, once we get to those transmitters, we'll need you to plug in and disable those devices. Understood?"

The other Rangers reached for their morphers and gave ready nods before Captain Austin cleared his throat, "Hold on. You didn't forget about us, did you? We came here to kick some ass too."

"You can help hold the line here," Erik suggested as he finished with his other patient.

Jeffery shook his head, "Wrong Lieutenant. We're going to help you Rangers bust through the Xeno line instead. Hell, maybe we'll be able to capture that alien transmitter first."

"All right Austin. You're on. We'll have a little race then," Martin nodded while giving a wry smile.

"Sir? There is the problem of crossing that killzone," one of the STARs pointed out as a few stray shots rang out overhead.

"You just leave that part to us," the Red Ranger said, "We'll lead the charge so try to keep up."

The five reached for their morphers and activated them, " _Energize_!"

Despite their attempts to look indifferent, Captain Austin and his squad of STAR troopers couldn't help but stare in amazement as the Rangers were engulfed in a flash of colorful light and endowed in their impressive futuristic battle suits.

The morphed Rangers all took up a line formation on the frontline barricade and activated the personal force shields that had been built into their mophers. As they did, the STARS gathered in close order behind them and readied themselves to charge forward into combat.

"All right boys, remember the plan," Austin called, "The Rangers will shield us from the incoming fire until we reach the end of that plaza. We'll break left and take the Xenos in a flank attack!"

The STARs all barked a loud affirmative response in unison before the Rangers dashed forward interlocking their shields into a defensive wall of force fields. A fierce hail of Xeno blaster fire erupted and battered at the shields but the Rangers pushed forward and returned fire with their own Nova Blasters causing the enemy to momentarily slacken their defense. The instant the Rangers crossed the open plaza, they burst over the enemy barricades and broke ranks igniting their energy blades and carving through the Xeno battle drones there.

Meanwhile, the STARs shifted left and rounded the ruins of a bombed out building, sweeping around to surprise attack a large number of the genetically enhanced Eidolon soldiers that were now responding to the Rangers' charge. The STARs wasted no time in positioning themselves to lay down a withering and accurate hail of laser fire to mow down several of the enemies. Once the Rangers broke through, they were surprised to find the STARs regrouping and reloading atop a pile of dead Xeno soldiers. The black uniforms and helmets almost made them look like a band of eerie grim reapers.

"What took you so long _chica_? I've been waiting here just for you," the Hispanic STAR trooper who had been hitting on Ella before winked as the Pink Ranger approached.

"Garcia! Get your head in the game!" Capt. Austin snapped sharply, "Now is not the time!"

Garcia was about to protest when a shot rang out and the trooper was clipped in the shoulder by an energy bolt. He spun sideways and fell over as the other STARs hit the dirt shouting warnings of, "Sniper!"

From where he stood, Bharata leveled his blaster pistol and scanned the roofs of the buildings around them using the advanced tactical sensors in his helmet. His scanners easily picked up the heat signature of an enemy sniper on the third floor of a nearby building trying to hide behind the wall. The Green Ranger aimed his blaster at the building and fired a pair of shots which hit the hiding spot and dropped the alien marksman.

"Nice shot Bara!" Erin grinned while giving a thumbs up. The Green Ranger glanced a moment to the wounded Trooper Garcia and gave a quiet nod.

"You're welcome. All clear Captain!"

Martin waved the strike team forward through the rubble and ruined city-scape which the enemy occupied. "Let's keep moving! The sooner we get to the other side of the urban center, the better."

* * *

After fighting a running battle through the streets of Kursk, the Rangers and the STARs finally pushed to the other side of the sector and came across a band of aliens escorting the sought after signal tower closer into the city on a mobile platform.

"There it is! That's where the enemy signals are coming from!" Erik pointed out but he stopped in surprise when the STARs advanced without warning and launched a coordinated attack on the enemy. Again the Xenos were taken by complete surprise as they were sniped dead before they could even respond. To the Rangers' amazement, a heavily armored vehicle that was escorting the alien group erupted in flames as one of the other STARs snuck around a pile of rubble and destroyed it with a rocket launcher.

"Damn... they're good," Bharata remarked as Captain Austin secured the portable transmitter tower. The trooper nodded to his men and gave a smug grin toward the Rangers.

"He who hesitates is lost. Looks like we won the race Rangers."

Martin shook his head slightly at the petty dig while the STARs exchanged fist bumps and high fives for their initiative, "You forgot that we're the ones who can disable this device. Miss Catalano? If you'd be so kind?"

Ella nodded and approached the emitter tower while powering down. She pulled some electronic equipment from her backpack and plugged in some connector cables to the Xeno device. While she worked to try and hack the command codes and disable the equipment, the Rangers and their allies stood guard over the area and watched in trepidation as the top of the miniature tower continued to glow ominously and give off its signals.

No sooner had she plugged in, Ella stopped when she noticed some unusual data readings coming up on her screen. "What the... this can't be right."

"What's going on over there Ella?" Erik asked as he checked the wounded shoulder of Trooper Garcia.

"The data in this thing has become corrupted," Ella frowned with uneasy confusion, "I can't be sure but it looks like there's been some internal malfunction and it's only getting worse."

"Are you sure you didn't do anything to it?" Captain Austin asked accusingly.

"No sir!" Ella said as she shook her head, "If something in this device went to hell, it happened at least several hours ago."

Martin nodded and waved her away, "Okay, pack it in Ella. We're not going to mess with something we don't understand."

At that moment, everyone froze as they saw the glowing top of the Xeno tower change color to orange and then flicker several times.

"Oh boy... that's not good," Erin remarked before several more blaster bolts from alien weapons rang out and streaked by.

The UN allies all turned in shock to see a fresh company of Eidolon soldiers emerge from a nearby sidestreet and attempt to retake the captured emitter tower.

"Damn! Like we didn't have enough to worry about right now?" Martin growled as the STARs began to shout and scramble into a defensive posture.

"Stand your ground men! Don't let the Xenos through!" Jeffery shouted as he hurled a grenade and blasted back a handful of alien troops.

The Red Ranger shook his head in argument and waved the team back, "No! We need to fall back into cover! We're sitting ducks out here in the open!"

"Sorry Captain! I'm not gonna let those bastards retake their device!" Jeffery growled stubbornly as he continued to fire back with his rifle.

Fortunately, the subspace emitter tower decided the argument for them as the orange glowing top of the device flashed and erupted into a translucent bubble of clear white light again. The allies fell back letting a handful of the Xenos approach but the Eidolons were caught in the radius of the energy bubble which had now begun to swallow the tower and spread out over the street.

To his shock the Green Ranger found himself at the edge of the strange anomaly and paused, unsure of how to respond.

"What? What is going on here?" Bharata cried out in alarm as he watched the air ripple violently around him. The objects around him almost seemed to bend and blur in and out of focus causing a slight feeling of disorientation. Before he could be fully enveloped in the strange phenomenon, he felt a hand grab his shoulder and roughly pull him free. He blinked in surprise as he saw Erin tug his shoulder and urge him to continue falling back. "Erin? I... thanks."

"Don't thank me yet," she cried in alarm, "Something's going on! We have to keep moving!"

As the two Rangers fell back to safety alongside their comrades and the other STARs, they watched as a strange bubble of rippling energy particles slowly began to grow from the Xeno tower. The alien troopers who had been caught in the anomaly seemingly remained frozen in place blurring in and out of focus. One moment they appeared to be solid, but then the next minute they would become ethereal before phasing back in again.

"Rangers? What's going on?" Lucy's voice came in over the radio, "I'm reading erratic energy spikes radiating from those subspace emitters... from those locations all over the world, in fact."

"We were hoping you could tell us Doc," Ella responded in worry as she continued to back away from the slowly growing bubble of unstable energy, "Something's gone screwy with the enemy's transport device and it's doing something weird now."

Captain Austin grabbed a small rocket launcher from one of his subordinates and began to load it, "Whatever that thing is, let's blast it before it swallows us and gets any worse."

Erik immediately grabbed the STAR trooper's weapon arm keeping him from raising the launcher, "No! Are you nuts? We don't know what that is! You might blow us all up or make things worse!"

The other STARs disregarded him and began to aim with their laser rifles at the malfunctioning Xeno tower before Jeffery shoved Erik's hand away in irritation. He hated to admit it, but the Blue Ranger had a point, "Hold your fire! Hold your fire!"

Martin kept his eyes fixed on the increasingly unstable anomaly while continuing to back up, "General... a battalion of Xeno troops are stuck in some kind of weird energy bubble but if it keeps up, it may put us and our allies in danger. What are your orders?"

From the base, Caldwell watched the strange phenomenon continue to occur before answering with a grimace, "Nova Squad, I want you and all UNAF forces to pull back and withdraw from Kursk. We're getting you out of there so we can come up with a new plan."

Turning to Lucy, he nodded, "Dr. Beckett? Transport the Rangers and the STARs out of there right now."

The scientist gave a tense nod and punched in the commands to activate an emergency teleport lock. Whatever was going on, not even the Xeno Machina invaders were sure how to respond to this emerging crisis. As she glanced at some of the preliminary sensor reports coming back from the anomaly, she wondered if she'd even be able to make sense of this growing disaster too.


	19. Parallax

**Mission 9: Part 1**

After a hasty retreat back to Atlantis Base, the Nova Rangers sat in the main briefing room of the Command Tower watching the holographic maps. Both alien and UN forces were pulling back from their respective battlegrounds across the world while the strange energy phenomenon of the Xeno towers continued to stay active. Whatever was going on, it seemed like those strange bubbles were posing a threat to both the humans and the aliens alike.

The Rangers had barely had time to drop their heavy combat gear but still wore their BDUs which were dirty with grime, smoke, and sweat from the battle in Russia. From a side room, the door swished open and a grim faced General Caldwell emerged causing the Rangers to quickly stand up to attention. The older commander waved them off and approached the head of the table followed by Dr. Beckett.

"Rangers… welcome home," Caldwell began as he eyed the holographic maps displayed, "We called you back because there seems to be a sort of developing situation. Based on the data that was collected from Lieutenant Catalano, it seems Dr. Beckett's original hypothesis was partially correct. The Xenos were in fact using devices on those towers to fold space-time and create wormholes. That was how they slipped past the orbital defenses and were landing huge numbers of ground troops."

Erin drummed her fingers on the table and gave a relieved sigh while studying the maps, "Well lucky for us something backfired on the Xenos. They caught a lot of our forces by surprise in their first wave."

Caldwell grimaced and paced around the room, "I'm afraid the situation isn't as rosy as you think Lieutenant Reilly. The enemy ground forces have fallen back for now but they've still landed a significant force which can go into hiding or cause more problems behind our lines."

"I feel like there's more bad news still coming General. Am I right?" Martin noted as he crossed his arms pensively.

Caldwell exhaled deeply and turned to Lucy prompting her to speak. Dr. Beckett cleared her throat and changed the holographic displays with her dataslate. "You're right Captain. At the moment the situation is changing and it looks like a greater threat is coming from these subspace emitter towers that the Xenos have set up."

"Does it have to do with that weird energy bubble we came across?" Bharata asked.

"Precisely," Dr. Beckett nodded displaying schematics of the device, "Based on the data we collected, it looks like critical design flaws in the Xeno towers have caused malfunctions and destabilized the very fabric of space-time. If understood your description of the events correctly, it would seem that the people and places caught within these subspace bubbles are trapped in a sort of loop, phasing in and out of reality."

Erik rubbed his temples, "Okay… this is really weird. I kinda recall all that theory of relatively stuff from science classes in school, so is that what we're up against? Relativity has gone bonkers?"

"Well, it's a bit of an over-simplication but… yes," Lucy admitted with a shrug.

"About the people in the bubble, why was everything blurring in and out of focus though?" Ella asked curiously.

"I imagine what you're seeing is a parallax effect. The appearance of objects is displaced based on the different points of view outside the energy bubble."

"I don't suppose this could get any worse… could it?" Bharata asked hesitantly.

Lucy sighed and displayed the world map with the locations of the unstable bubbles, "As we speak, it appears those subspace bubbles are continuing to grow. If left unchecked, it's possible that they might swallow up whole cities or countries. If that happens… well, who knows?"

Everyone sat in a stunned but grim silence until Martin cleared his throat, "Okay… so what are we supposed to do about it? Is there a way to reverse the effects or shut off those towers?"

"The only way we can even hope to deactivate those towers is to get through the Parallax bubble first," Lucy said solemnly, "Doing that that is where the challenge lies."

She paced around the room in deep thought before she stopped and shook her head to herself, "Hmm... no. I don't know about that."

"You've got an idea?" Erin asked hopefully, "Because the rest of us don't know the first thing about quantum physics or string theory."

Dr. Beckett set her datapad down on the table and looked to Caldwell, "General... I think I might have an idea, but it's a long-shot."

"I'm all ears Doctor," Caldwell offered while extending his hands outward.

Lucy nodded and looked to the Rangers, "Everyone, I was thinking it might be possible to combat the Parallax bubble with something similar. With Ella's help, I might just be able to create a sort of Parallax inhibitor which will temporarily shield us from the unstable particles. We can cross into the bubble and try to disable the emitter tower. I could program something to cause a chain reaction in the others and maybe shut them down for good."

Everyone sat in silence for a moment thinking it over before Caldwell put his hands down, "Do it. Dr. Beckett, get on that protective device. Once you're done, I want you to suit up and head back to Kursk with the Rangers to stop that disaster from spreading more."

"Wait! General... you want me to go to the battlefield?" the scientist balked in shock.

Caldwell rose from his chair, "You're the only one who will be able to maintain that inhibitor and disable those towers. The Rangers will be there to protect you every step of the way. As for you Rangers, get ready to return to the battle line. I'll keep the STARs on standby in case things get hairy out there. Dismissed."

The Nova Rangers exchanged uneasy expressions while Lucy sat looking sick to her stomach. Being responsible for more world saving tech and entering a warzone was not how she wanted to start her week. It was times like this she wished she'd just keep her bright ideas to herself.

* * *

During his downtime in waiting for Dr. Beckett to craft her anti-parallax device, Erik Dobermann took a short walk through the infirmary of the base to check in on the wounded UNAF troops that had been transported there for immediate care. Based on some of the reports that he had glimpsed, there had been heavy fighting across the world and there were sure to have been numerous military and civilian casualties as well. For a moment, he wondered if the sister bases of Atlantis were just as busy rendering aid. Like Atlantis, there were two other floating city outposts: Garuda Base in the Indian Ocean and Midway Base in the Pacific.

As he entered the busy but sterile infirmary, the Blue Ranger passed by some doctors and nurses that were buy tending to injured soldiers and a few civilians that were lying in beds or hooked up to IVs. In a way, hospitals and infirmaries always felt strange to him. He was a combat medic and used to seeing gruesome injuries in the heat of battle. He was used to being short of the right medical equipment or having to improvise ways to help wounded people. Here in a clinical setting, things just felt too "quiet" and sterile... not that it was a bad thing. The doctors and nurses here were doing the exact same thing he was trained to do, which was to save lives. The environment though was just something he still couldn't quite get used to.

While he continued to walk down a row of patient beds, he spotted Trooper Garcia, the STAR who had been injured during the recent battle alongside the Rangers in Kursk. The young man was sitting up in bed trying to flex his shoulder which had been patched up with fresh bandages. To Erik's surprise, he also found Captain Jeffery Austin at Garcia's bedside speaking a few words of encouragement to his subordinate before clapping the man on the other shoulder and turning to leave.

Austin stopped when he saw Erik before slowly approaching, "Lieutenant Dobermann, I'm a little surprised to see you here."

"I was about to say the same thing to you too sir," Erik replied carefully.

The two men began to walk down the rest of the aisle and out the other side of the infirmary. While they did, Austin snorted mildly, "You weren't expecting me to come check up on my trooper?"

Erik remained quiet as Austin waved it off, "We STARs do have a mean streak but we're not completely heartless either. We do take care of our own."

"Of course sir," Erik nodded dutifully, "I never doubted that."

Austin glanced at the big German medic for a long moment before giving a slight nod himself, "Lieutenant… thank you for tending to Garcia's injury out there in Kursk. I appreciate your doing that."

"Just doing my job sir," Erik said in a neutral tone, "We're all on the same side."

Captain Austin curled his lip in amusement, "Your tone doesn't sound completely convincing."

Erik frowned to himself as they continued walking down the hallways of the base, "Sir… with respect, if we are on the same side then I don't understand why you and your men are so antagonizing our team. We're all veteran soldiers here who have beaten the enemy before so there's no need for the hazing."

Austin stopped nearby one of the windows overlooking the ocean and fixed the medic with a firm look, "No Lieutenant. You don't understand. We act this way because we need to let everyone know that we're the best damn soldiers on this entire planet. Part of that comes from believing that to be true. The STARs need to believe that it's true in order to be effective."

"It sounds more like you guys might have a chip on your shoulder," Erik noted causing Austin to growl and turn away toward the window.

"You're wrong again Lieutenant. The men of my unit do know a thing or two about having our pride bruised."

Erik listened while Captain Austin continued to look out over the blue ocean with a hard gaze, "During the first Xeno invasion, you remember how fierce the fighting across the world was, don't you?"

Erik remained silent while Austin spoke, "Many of the world's leading powers… America, Russia, China… we took on the brunt of the fighting and we suffered for it too. We hated to do it, but it had to be done. So many lives lost and so much of our strength destroyed."

Erik nodded, "That's why the UNAF was established. With everybody around the world pitching in to help now, our resources and strength are shared."

"You're missing my point," Austin said with an edge in his voice, "Before those damned Xenos came the United States of America had been at the very top of its game. We were the strongest country on the face of the Earth."

"Arguably you still are," Erik pointed out but Captain Austin shook his head.

"No. Not when we've ceded away part of our strength and sovereignty to a world government. I know we had to do that out of pure necessity but I know for a fact that many of us still hate the fact that we had to do it at all. Letting the UN have a greater say and dictating some of the way we do things... it's sickening. I'm sure if you asked your own Captain Sterling, he'd agree with me. He wouldn't ever say it out loud but I'm willing to bet that he shares many of those personal feelings too."

Erik pondered the words before looking to Captain Austin, "There's probably some truth in what you say, but the fact is we're still at war and we're stuck in this situation together. We have a mutual enemy that needs to be driven from this solar system first and foremost."

"That's still the primary objective Lieutenant," Austin agreed, "But part of my own personal mission is to restore my country's pride and prestige and no one is going to get in the way of that… not the Xenos or any of you either."

The STAR captain took a breath and steeled his features before giving a curt nod and walking off down the hall, "Lieutenant."

Erik watched the man depart and disappear into the crowd of base personnel going about their work. For a moment, he couldn't help but feel a mixture of pity and confusion at Captain Austin's sentiments. While Erik couldn't fully relate, he had to admit there was still some legitimacy to Austin's feelings about the state of the world. While part of him wanted to go and prod Martin's thoughts on the subject, he decided it was probably best to just let sleeping dogs lie and preserve the harmony that had already been built up by their squad. Besides, they had enough problems to worry about at the moment.

* * *

Meanwhile, above planet Earth a small task force of Xeno Machina warships maneuvered about to occupy the attention of the orbital defenses and the remains of the Terran fleet. The Xeno ships stayed well out of range and took no aggressive actions, instead opting to distract the humans and keep them off balance. Occasionally, one of the orbital guns would fire but because of the interference from the growing time-space bubbles on the surface, they could not achieve targeting locks and the shots went wide.

On the bridge of one of the alien frigates, the Xeno field commander Vivisectus stood watching the spectacle unfold. The fearsome warrior restlessly moved his shoulders which folded back a pair of long blades resembling the shape of a praying mantis's arms. While humanoid, the biomechanical horror sported dark colored armor with sharp edges and freakish serrated mantis-like claws that had been surgically grafted onto his arms as secondary appendages. He slowly closed his mechanically enhanced eyes before he received a transmission from Warmaster Hellspont on the moon.

The robotic human-mantis hybrid opened his eyes and looked to his viewscreen, "Warmaster. I am here."

Vivisectus what is the current situation above the planet?" Hellspont asked.

The warrior glanced to several glints of light around the blue planet noting the reflection of the sun off the hulls of the Terran ships and the orbital guns, "We are keeping the enemy fleet busy as you requested. We've had no trouble up to now."

"Good," Hellspont replied, "Prepare to order your ships back to the moon. You however will stay and take a drop pod down to Earth. We may be in need of you on the surface."

The mantis tilted his head slightly in a mixture of curiosity and amusement, "What would you have me do Warmaster?"

"We've intercepted some human radio transmissions and think they mean to reverse the effects of our broken transmitter towers. I want you to go down there and prepare to intervene."

Vivisectus frowned, "Why not let the humans work? If they have a way to stop those subspace bubbles, it will benefit our side as well."

Hellspont chuckled, "I'm counting on it. If the humans have a means to stabilize those bubbles, then they'll be able to repair the towers and allow us to continue the invasion. I want you to capture any human devices or technology that might be helpful in that goal."

The mantis warrior turned and gestured to some of the other Xenos on the bridge, "I will do as you ask Warmaster. Vivisectus out."

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **The scientific concept of Parallax is primarily used to help astronomers measure distances from Earth to some other stars using trigonometry. I think it's thematically appropriate for issues of altered relativity and some of the "space" themes of this series overall, but hopefully some of you also caught the other hidden meaning in the chapter title, especially as it relates to differing perceptions of other people and/or countries.**


	20. Confluence

**Mission 9: Part 2  
**

Lucy Beckett gripped the edges of her seat as the small UNAF airship hit some air turbulence and jostled about for a few moments. In no time, the transport ship steadied itself and continued jetting along while its engines settled back into their normal droning roar. Ella Catalano grinned as she caught the scientist's discomfort and patted her shoulder as she walked in the cabin of the aircraft, "Everything okay Dr. B? You look a little tense."

"Sorry... I've never really cared much for flying," Lucy muttered as she idly fumbled with some of the straps of the flak vest she was now wearing for the mission.

Erin took a seat on a bench nearby and gave an encouraging smile, "Really? I would have thought you'd be more uncomfortable heading to the battle line with the rest of us."

Admittedly, the Yellow Ranger was also correct. Dr. Beckett was scared to death about the possibility of entering a warzone for the first time in her life. She didn't belong there and she didn't know the first thing about combat either. Her body armor felt uncomfortable and awkward and she had no idea how the other Rangers all made it look so easy.

"All right, cut the chatter and listen up everyone," Martin called as he walked back into the transport's hold, "There's a lot riding on this mission so let's review. We're returning to Kursk via aircraft as those Parallax bubbles are causing too much interference for our teleporters. We'll be dropped roughly half a mile from the anomaly and we'll make a break for that damaged tower."

Erik nodded in agreement, "Once Dr. Beckett activates the Parallax inhibitor, we should have just enough time to make it to the tower so that she can reprogram the alien device. Bharata, you'll be in charge of carrying the inhibitor and keeping us safe. Ella and Erin, you two will be there to assist Dr. Beckett with any other technical help she'll need. Everyone got it?"

"Yes sir!" the three younger Rangers replied smartly to the squad's second in command.

Martin took a glance out the windows and looked below to see thick banks of gray low hanging strata clouds masking the Russian landscape. No doubt there was going to be fog which would make things a little more difficult once on the ground. "Good. ETA is in approximately fifteen minutes from now. Until then, I want all of you to strap in, double check your gear, and focus on the mission. We're only going to get one shot at this so we have to make it count, right Luce?"

"Sure," she replied in nervous trepidation while adjusting her glasses, "No pressure or anything... right?"

* * *

Once the transport landed, the Rangers and Dr. Beckett quickly piled out and grabbed their gear before their ride lifted back off into the skies. The horizon was dark with low hanging fog mixing with the smoke that remained from the fierce battle over the little strategic city of Kursk. Erin immediately pulled out a scanner and pointed the team in the direction of the Parallax bubble while Bharata took point and Lucy stuck to the center of their formation for safety. Ella kept a sharp lookout at the rear and spoke quietly over the team comm line, "Stay sharp everyone. There might be Xenos still lurking around here."

To their relief, no resistance was encountered while the team moved ever closer to the city limits. Finally, they came upon what they were looking for. The eerie Parallax bubble had grown significantly since they last encountered it and the anomaly swirled with energy particles giving the appearance of an opaque clouded marble, or one with a miasma filled haze within. Everyone stopped before they hesitantly approached the massive shimmering bubble of glowing light. Up close, the phenomenon had grown in size and spread out over the entire region. The Parallax bubble had grown several stories high and seemed to just keep expanding horizontally across the whole landscape. Erin halted and lowered her hand scanner with a gaping mouth, "Oh wow… this is bad news. Do you really think that device Dr. Beckett cooked up is going to be able to protect us?"

"There's only one way to find out," Bharata answered as he gestured to the Nova Morpher on his wrist.

The other Rangers activated their morphers and donned their battle suits before turning to Dr. Beckett. Martin looked to his old friend with a hint of tension in his voice, "Lucy? You ready to go?"

"Here goes nothing," she nodded as she pulled out a small device that looked to be the size of a bread toaster. After hitting a few switches on the side, a little dish extended outward and began to give off a subspace signal of its own. The Rangers held their breath and watched as Lucy held her device forward while beginning to walk into the anomaly. The five Nova Rangers huddled around, flanking her like bodyguards and all of them watched in stunned silence as they noticed another strange phenomenon. The altered subspace particles emitted by the inhibitor pushed aside the Parallax bubble and formed a short of faint glowing protective shell around them. Once inside the strange swirling Parallax, the Rangers continued to see the world normally while everything around them fluctuated slightly in a foggy dreamlike haze.

"Wow… this is too freaky," Ella remarked as Lucy handed off the inhibitor to Bharata while Erik set his stopwatch.

"Okay. Let's get a move on," the Blue Ranger suggested. "We're not going to have a whole lot of time to get to that transmitter tower."

The small group pushed on through the quiet eerie landscape and occasionally stared at the sight of civilians, soldiers, or Xenos that were caught in the bubble who remained fixed in place, blinking in and out of existence. Though no one openly vocalized it, the experience was truly unnerving. After a time, the Rangers finally cut through the last of the temporal fog and returned to the location of the transmitter tower.

"All right, showtime!" Erik sighed in relief as Lucy and Ella hurried over to plug in and disable the Xeno machine.

While Bharata stood nearby them and watched over the device shielding the Rangers from the Parallax, Martin, Erik, and Erin stood guard.

Several long minutes passed and only the sound of clicking keyboards were heard until Martin glanced at his own watch, "Girls? How's it going over there? We're running up against the limits of our time."

"Hang on everyone… I've almost got it," Lucy replied furiously working while Ella double checked the computer coding, "Before I disable everything, I'm going to try and use the device to send back as many Xenos to the moon as I can. We might as well use their own subspace technology against them."

While she said that, Bharata glanced down and saw the protective device that he was holding start to short out. The protective field around the Rangers slowly began to retract while the Parallax closed in, "Uh Dr. B? If you're going to try that, you might want to do it soon. The inhibitor is starting to crap out."

Ella cast a fearful glance around as she saw her fellow Rangers withdraw back around the tower and huddle up near them, "Any time now Doc."

"Just a little longer…" Lucy said through gritted teeth while she worked.

The Parallax continued to creep ever closer while Erin took a deep breath and tried to hide behind Bharata. Even the normally stoic Red Ranger felt his stomach drop and his voice betrayed a hint of fear as the Parallax nearly wore away the last of their protective force field, "I'm kinda freakin' out here Luce…"

"Got it!" she smiled as she punched in the last command codes and braced herself. The Nova Rangers held their collective breaths and watched while the light at the top of the miniature tower changed colors again to a cool blue and began to radiate out against the encroaching Parallax anomaly. To their relief, the new field of energy particles spread out and began to dissolve the cloudy miasma of the Parallax bubble. While the Rangers were still a bit too far to notice, the adjustments that Dr. Beckett had made to the tower caused all the Xeno soldiers within the bubble to be sent back to their point of origin on the moon where the first dimensional fold had taken place. All the human soldiers and civilians within the bubble remained unharmed and suddenly found themselves free of the distortion.

"All right! Way to go Dr. B!" Erin cheered while the others breathed a sigh of relief. Once the time-space bubble had completely evaporated, the colored bulb at the top of the tower blew out and fried the electronics of the remaining structure.

"Rangers! You did it!" General Caldwell's voice came in over the radio, "We're picking up similar signals from the alien towers around the rest of the world. The Parallax is subsiding and the Xeno's subspace network is falling apart."

"I can't believe it worked myself," Lucy gasped as she fell to her knees and tried to catch her breath.

Erik knelt down and put a calming hand on Lucy's shoulder, "Easy does it Doc. Just take deep breaths."

"Uh guys... we're not out of the woods just yet," Ella remarked as she looked upward and saw several large objects fall from the skies and land nearby. The miniature comets slammed into the earth with a thundering boom and kicked up a wave of dirt and smoke before they were revealed to be Xeno Machina drop pods. As the hatches opened, several Eidolon soldiers emerged along with a pack of fearsome quadrupedal beasts. The biomechanical creatures resembled large attack dogs except they were constructed from a gruesome fusion of machines and organic parts. The monsters possessed unusually large jaws filled with razor sharp teeth and lacked any sort of eyes or facial features. In a way, it was as if their entire head was one big toothy maw ready to shred its prey.

The alien soldiers and their gruesome attack animals grouped around a biomechanical humanoid with metallic praying mantis-like pincers attached to its shoulders. It was a safe bet this was a Xeno field commander who had come to challenge the Rangers. The warrior laughed and gently petted one of the freakish beasts, "Beautiful aren't they? Lord Hellspont personally commissioned the creation of these Reaver creatures for us... natural hunters and killers."

"I think we'd be doing them a favor if we put them down instead," Bharata retorted, "Who are you and what do you want?"

The intimidating Xeno commander slowly turned his attention back to the Rangers, "I am Commander Vivisectus. You've disabled our transmitter towers. I want to know how."

"Forget it bug face," Erik called back defiantly, "You guys already screwed things up enough. Why don't you and your slobbering mutts get off our rock and take a hike?"

"You will submit to us... one way or another," the Xeno scoffed as he waved his troops and Reavers forward. The Rangers immediately reacted by drawing their pistols and forming a defensive formation.

"Stay back and take cover Lucy. We'll keep you safe!" Martin called as he turned back to the incoming enemy forces.

The monstrous creatures began to swarm forward like a pack of ravenous attack dogs. Their freakishly large mouths gaped open while their sharp mechanical teeth gnashed furiously. The gruesome quadrupeds surged over the rocky terrain, unconcerned as they met a disciplined volley of blaster shots from the other Rangers. After blowing a few more of the freakish dogs away, the Rangers activated their force shields and swapped weapons for their Nova Strikers instead.

The charging Xeno forces met the Rangers and a fierce melee erupted on the field. Erin and Erik carved through several more Reavers with their vibroblades as the snarling monstrosities leapt at them. Meanwhile, Bharata and Ella both clashed against several foot soldiers, dodging and somersaulting past attacks and beating them back with their own martial arts moves.

"Keep it up! Stand your ground Rangers!" Martin shouted as he roundhouse kicked aside an Eidolon and sidestepped a Reaver's vicious bite. Before he could raise his energy blade up, he was cut off when he heard a muffled scream coming from behind their line. He whirled around and his eyes went wide in horror as he saw the Xeno field commander Vivisectus standing near the trasmitter tower gripping Lucy by the neck.

"Martin! Help!" she exclaimed before the Xeno tightened his grip and silenced her. Lucy yelped in pain and feebly struggled to escape but the Xeno was far too strong.

"That's enough out of you girlie," the monster snorted while the Red Ranger furiously leveled his vibrosword.

"Let her go Xeno! If you hurt her, I swear to God I'll…"

"You'll what?" Vivisectus taunted as he put one of his mantis blades to Lucy's throat, "She's important... isn't she Ranger? If I had to guess, she's the one responsible for everything that's happened here."

He glanced down at her datapad and cables before looking back to the Ranger with a sly smile. The Ranger hesitated and tried to keep his blade leveled, "I'm not going to say this again you freak. Let. Her. Go."

"You're lucky that she's useful to us," the Xeno laughed as he clamped down again on Lucy's neck, "Otherwise, I'd slit her throat right now and delight in the death rattles."

Lucy gave another whimper before a loud buzzing sound came from the skies. Everyone on the battlefield paused a moment to stare as a Xeno Machina shuttlecraft descended quickly from overhead. To everyone's surprise, one of the shuttle's laser turrets began to lay down a blistering hail of fire causing the other Rangers to disengage and dive for safety to avoid being hit. Although the five Rangers were thrown off balance, the indiscriminate fire wiped out the last of the alien combatants and fortunately cleared the way. In the confusion of the alien shuttle's landing, Vivisectus shouted and fired several whirling blades from his wrist which hit the ground around Martin and exploded, throwing the Rangers backwards.

"Help!" Lucy cried out before she was hauled roughly into the Xeno shuttle. Vivisectus smirked and gave a wave to the Rangers who were picking themselves up off the ground with stunned expressions.

"This isn't over yet Rangers. I'm going to borrow your scientist for a little while but I can't promise I'll return her in one piece."

The alien shuttle craft fired its jets and quickly took off into the sky with its captive. The five Nova Rangers staggered for a moment from the blinding dust cloud that resulted before watching in horror as the Xeno commander made his escape with their friend. The Red Ranger pulled his pistol and hopelessly fired several blaster shots at the aircraft to no avail.

"Get back here you cowardly son of a bitch!" he shouted in a blind fury, "I'm coming for you! Do you hear me? I'm going to..."

He stopped as Erik stepped in and forcefully restrained him, "Sir... Martin... calm down and think for a moment, okay? We'll get her back."

The younger rangers watched in surprise and horror as the big German Ranger struggled for a few more moments to settle their enraged commander. Erin looked grimly to the others and then to the ruins of the battlefield before reaching for her comm, "Lieutenant Reilly to Atlantis Base... General Caldwell? We have a little bit of a situation."

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Phew! And just when you thought our heroes were going to pull things off. Now that the weird science is out of the way, we can get to a classic rescue mission scenario. I've got two more chapters left in this little plot arc so you can expect one more double post in the near future followed by a shippy breather plot to change gears afterwards. Stand by!**


	21. Coercion

**Mission 10: Part 1  
**

The sounds of dripping water echoed through the dark caves as Lucy Beckett slowly regained consciousness. The young woman groggily sat up and cracked open her eyes to examine her surroundings. A small fluorescent lantern made from Xeno tech sat nearby casting a dim eldritch green light on the rocky walls of the cavern she was in. The ground was hard and rocky and she shivered for a moment feeling the cool damp air on her skin.

To her chagrin, she found her glasses were damaged… most likely cracked when she was dropped on the ground, wherever that was. She listened to the sounds of dripping water around her and tried to figure out what happened. She remembered getting captured by a frightening alien mantis man before being flown over some mountains in a Xeno transport craft. Danger or not, she had to escape and figure out where she was so that she could contact help. She took the small lantern and began to head for what she believed to be the mouth of the cave until as was stopped by the fierce sounds of barking and snarling.

She moved the lantern and gasped in terror as she saw a pair of the Reaver hounds leap at her. Fortunately, the horrific biomechanical attack dogs didn't get far enough to bite as they were stopped by their chain leash fixed to the cave wall. They must have been left to guard the passageway and they did their job causing Lucy to stumble backwards in fear before she bumped into another figure.

A pair of clawed hands clamped on her arms as she spun around to face the monstrous Xeno commander Vivsectus. The biomechanical human with metallic insect claws and mantis features chuckled in amusement as a few Eidolon soldiers came to back him up. "Where do you think you're going, my dear?"

Despite her fear, Lucy tried to struggle free of his iron grip, "Let go of me! Let go!"

Vivisectus ignored her and dragged her deeper into the caves until he came upon a wide cave room with the salvaged base of a Xeno Machina subspace tower. "I will let you go only after you help me first. You figured out how to disable the towers so surely you can figure out how to repair them and make them work again."

"You think I'll help you?" the scientist said. She tried her best to sound defiant but it came out more like a squeak.

The Xeno angrily hurled Lucy to the ground near the device and extended the bladed end of one pincer claw, "I'm willing to offer you a deal for your miserable life Terran. I suggest you take it."

The Xeno commander tossed her a container of tools and retracted his blades, "If you try to escape, I will kill you. If you try to tamper with the transporter, I will also kill you. The choice is yours."

Lucy stared down the alien realizing how desperate her situation had become. She glanced down to the tools and then back to the alien through her cracked and slightly blurred glasses. Perhaps there was a way out of this after all. It would be extremely risky, but it was her only option. "All right. I'll get this thing up and running again."

"If that's your choice, I'm going to be here watching you to make sure you don't try anything funny," Vivisectus snarled as he reclined in the corner of the cavern.

"Right then," she said as she pulled off her bulky flak vest and rolled up her sleeves. She tied up her hair and pulled the tools to begin working on the transmitter.

A few hours passed before she closed a panel on the device and set some of the tools down. She wiped some dirt and sweat from her brow while the Xeno rose and came over to examine the scene. Vivisectus cast a suspicious glance to her and then eyed the device, "Have you made any progress?"

Lucy used one of her hand held remote devices to enter a few lines of computer coding, "I think so. In just a few moments, I think I'll be able to activate this thing again."

As she punched in the final code, the device began to whir and activate as it powered up. From the top of its projector, an orb of light began to glow and change colors. The Xeno watched it for a few moments before his eyes began to grow wide. As the orb continued to fluctuate, he began to recognize the same signs of a malfunction. In mere moments, this device was going to create another Parallax bubble. The Xeno whirled around furiously on the scientist and backhanded her, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"You! You liar!" he snarled as he readied his razor sharp pincer claws, "You said you were going to get this device working again!"

"And I did," Lucy said as she slowly began to rise to her feet, "I never said I was going to have it work well."

"You're going to pay for this," the alien roared as he moved to eviscerate her with his claws.

The Xeno never got the chance as the top of the transmitter device erupted into a bright light and filled the entire cave with a new Parallax bubble. Lucy and every Xeno warrior within the anomaly suddenly found themselves frozen in a temporal loop. If anything, freezing herself and the other Xenos in place would buy her friends at Atlantis Base time to find her. It was all she could hope for because at the moment, it was looking like she had forever to wait.

* * *

After the fierce battle over the Russian city of Kursk, the Nova Rangers briefly returned to Atlantis Base while relief units of the UNAF in Russia deployed out to chase off any Xeno Machina stragglers that may have still been threatening Moscow. While the mission to disable the enemy transport towers and stop the unstable Parallax bubbles had been a success, the victory was soured by the abduction of Dr. Beckett during the battle. As late afternoon sunlight streamed in through the windows of the Command Tower's conference room, Erik Dobermann sat in his chair, calmly pondering the situation while his commanding officer paced restlessly waiting for General Caldwell to brief them.

From where they sat, the three younger Rangers exchanged a hesitant look before Bharata cleared his throat, "Captain... maybe you should take a seat? You're kind of making the rest of us nervous here."

The Red Ranger stopped and narrowed his gaze, "This is the perfect time to be nervous Lieutenant. Lucy's been captured for eight hours and we have no idea where she could be... or if she's even still alive."

"I doubt the Xenos would harm her right now," Erin pointed out, "Remember, they said she was useful. They probably want her to try and fiddle with their transporter technology."

Martin huffed conceding the point to the Yellow Ranger, "All right... even if that's the case, she can only stall them for so long. In the mean time, we need to be coming up with a plan and so far I've got nothing. Do any of you?"

To his dismay, the other four shook their heads too. Unless they knew where she was, it was impossible to plan anything and even then... they weren't sure how they should start searching in the first place.

The Red Ranger sat down and dejectedly covered his face with his hands, "This is all my fault. I should have been watching her. I should have done something... anything, and now she's gone."

Erik continued to listen and he crossed his arms thoughtfully. This was an unusually rare sight, but the squad's commander was mentally out of sorts and distracted. He had been jumpy and agitated since they had returned to the base nearly eight hours ago. In times like these, he decided to do what any good XO, would do. He was going to step up and help shoulder the burdens of command.

The Blue Ranger rose from his chair, "Like I said before Martin. We'll get her back. Right now it's not going to do any good blaming yourself or asking any big questions that no one has any reasonable answers for. The team needs it's leader right now and we need to all be focused on coming up with a plan to save Dr. Beckett."

A silence fell over the room as Martin slowly looked up at Erik with a curious expression. Everyone expected him to suddenly snap and reprimand Erick but the Red Ranger instead looked away and nodded to himself as if he had just been slapped in the face with a humbling revelation. "Yeah... you're right... thank you Erik. That's very true."

The Blue Ranger gave his friend a reassuring nod, "No need to apologize sir. We know you're really worried about Dr. B."

Across the table, Ella sat thinking over the situation and some of the personal words Martin had shared with her several months ago. That was when it struck her and it all started coming together. After a pause, she turned toward Martin and spoke, "I think I understand now. Sir, is Dr. Beckett that girl you were telling me about? You remember... when I came to speak to you in private that one day?"

The others paused and looked in surprise toward the Pink Ranger before turning back toward their leader.

Martin frowned, "Lieutenant, now is not the right time to…"

"No sir. It is the right time to be open with us," the Pink Ranger argued bravely, "You're obviously upset right now and if Erik is right, your judgment might be a little affected too. We're your team and we need to know what's going on here."

He rose from his seat and cast a heated look around the room before beginning to pace, "All right Ella. You guys want to know why Lucy is so important, aside from being our team's leading Engineer? She's my best friend too and we've been there for each other since the tragedies of the first Xeno invasion."

He stopped and turned away from the table to look out the windows over the Atlantic Ocean, "I met Lucy during the start of the Alpha Ranger program when I was a new recruit. Her father Andrew Beckett introduced her while she was visiting. She was an eager grad student and I was a naïve new Lieutenant. We hadn't talked much at the time but after my whole squad was wiped out in battle, I was brought back here half dead and all alone. Mr. Beckett was so guilt ridden that he isolated himself so Lucy took pity on me. She helped me through my recovery and we became friends. In a sense… I guess I had a chance to return her kindness by standing by her when Mr. Beckett fell apart and passed away. But there is some good that came of it all. We were both determined to struggle together and work hard to stop the threat of these aliens if they ever returned. We didn't want the same kinds of tragedies that we dealt with to happen to other innocent people."

"It sounds like her capture has put some things into perspective for you," Bharata noted quietly.

The Red Ranger frowned to himself again while continuing to look out the windows, "I suppose you're right Bara. She's… very special and the thing that's killing me right now is the fear that I might not get another chance to tell her that myself... to tell her how much I care about her."

Ella gave a gentle smile of understanding, "Don't worry sir. We'll find her and you can tell her yourself when we do."

"Thank you Ella… everyone…"

The team moment was interrupted as General Caldwell entered along with Lucy's lab assistant Julian Wilson. The General moved to the head of the table and addressed the squad with a serious frown. "Rangers, I came to give you an update on our status. So far the few remaining Xeno forces who escaped the Parallax reversal have retreated and gone into hiding around the world. SAR is still working to recover and locate as many missing people as they can, Dr. Beckett included. I wish I had better news, but so far we haven't had any leads in tracking down that alien field commander who took her. Until we get a bead on her possible general location, I'm afraid I can't authorize any sort of recovery mission for your squad."

A somber silence fell around the table before Julian jumped to his feet waving his tablet, "General! Rangers! Something just came up on the UNAF global monitors! I think it may be helpful to you here!"

"What is it Julian? What happened?" Erin asked jumping to her feet with a hopeful look.

The lab tech fumbled about and plugged in his tablet to project some images on the briefing room's holographic displays. Everyone watched as a coordinate in Eastern Russia appeared with fluctuating data readouts. "We've picked up some unusual signals coming from the Ural Mountains of Russia. They look to be subspace transmissions which match the same ones from the Xeno towers you guys disabled."

"Does that mean another Parallax bubble is forming?" Bharata asked, "I thought Dr. Beckett had sent a signal that fried all the other ones across the world."

"She did... unless she repaired this particular one too," Ella grinned as she scratched her chin, "The Urals are in the same general location where we were. It's possible that's where the Xenos took her."

Caldwell nodded, "It makes sense. I'm sure they'd want her to try and repair some of their equipment. Maybe she created a Parallax bubble on purpose. Maybe she did it to act like a signal flare for the rest of us."

"Brilliant! Then if she and the Xenos are caught in the bubble, none of them are going anywhere. That'll make it a piece of cake to recover her," Erik added hopefully.

"Hold on," Martin interjected, "If all of them are trapped in a Parallax bubble, then so will the rest of us if we try to enter those caves."

Julian raised a hand and gave a tentative smile, "Not to worry Captain. I'll get to work right away on repairing her Parallax Inhibitor. If I can do that, it should buy you enough time to stop that bubble and save Dr. Beckett."

The Red Ranger nodded and gave a hopeful smile, "Thank you Mr. Wilson. General Caldwell, do we have a go on the rescue mission?"

Caldwell studied the holographic maps and gave a satisfied smile himself, "Bring her home Nova Squad. We'll keep the lights on for you."

As everyone rose from the table, Erik stopped and put a hand on his commander's shoulder, "Sir? With your permission, why don't you let me handle the details of organizing a mission plan. You've got enough to worry about right now. Best to stay focused on the task at hand, right?"

Martin paused a moment before clapping Erik on the arm, "Right. Permission granted."

* * *

In the early morning hours, the Nova Rangers made their way to the base's large transporter room to head back to Russia for the third time. The faint orange and red glow of the rising sun began to creep in through the windows and push back the darkness of night while Julian stood ready at the control panels to the transit platform. The Rangers had all donned their gear and field uniforms, hoping that they'd be able to affect a swift rescue operation.

Upon entering the transporter room, they were surprised to see Captain Jeffery Austin and a squad of his STAR troopers also armed and ready for battle. The Rangers stopped at the sight of the rival unit as Captain Austin grinned and stepped forward, "We heard you guys were in need of a crack commando team, so here we are."

"Wait a second! What are you guys doing here?" Erin exclaimed with a suspicious frown, "Who told you about this op?"

"I did actually," Erik replied causing his fellow Rangers to turn in shock, "We're probably going to need some backup out there and we've already had some experience working together before."

"The General told us this is a delicate rescue operation so Nova Squad's going to need all the help it can get, especially from an experienced veteran unit," Austin added while casually resting his arm on his assault rifle, "Besides… in the off chance the STARs ever need it, you guys will owe us one."

Everyone turned to Martin and watched closely as the Red Ranger stayed silent with a stony expression. To their surprise, Martin slowly extended a hand and spoke quietly, "Thank you for the help Jeff. If you and the STARs want to come along, then I appreciate it."

He may have hated to humble himself a little toward the haughty STARs but this was not the time or place to let personal pride get in the way. A friend was in danger and her life came first. Jeffery Austin studied him a moment before clasping his hand and shaking it in return. Erik turned to the rest of the squad and did his job, "All right everyone, quit standing around! Let's get moving already! We've got a job to do here!"

As Captain Austin released Martin's hand, he gave an amused snort and headed for the platform with his own troops. The Red Ranger began to walk forward before stopping and glancing over his shoulder with a quiet but grateful nod, "Are you coming Lieutenant?"

"Right behind you sir."


	22. Joint Exercises

**Mission 10: Part 2  
**

Bharata Timothy kept a vigilant watch as the UNAF troop transport ship sped along the skies at the edges of the Ural Mountains. After being teleported to Moscow Russia, Nova Squadron and Captain Austin's team of STAR troopers were welcomed warmly by Major Petrov whom they aided in the recent battle of Kursk. The grateful senior officer offered the use of an aircraft and the rescue mission was underway.

Having been put in charge of checking the geography and doing the intelligence work for the mission, he eyed a map of the terrain on a portable datapad and reviewed the drop plan again. He handed off the datapad to Martin and secured his rappelling harness, "Everything checks out. We're set to go sir."

"Good work Bara. You're going to be on point when we land. Erin and Ella, you both know your part of the plan, right?"

From her spot on a bench of the hold, Erin patted a large backpack between her and the Pink Ranger, "Yes sir. We're going to be extremely careful with this large bag of C-4 explosives."

Across the way, Captain Austin and his black clad troopers went about checking their weapons and readying their gear. The leader of the STARs idly glanced over and slapped in a fresh power cartridge in his rifle, "The pilot told me we'll be at the periphery of the Parallax bubble in a few minutes. I heard it's supposed to be pretty freaky inside one of those things. Nothing we need to worry about is there?"

"The only thing you'll have to worry about is keeping any of the Xeno sentries off of us," Erik answered as he held the repaired Parallax Inhibitor, "As long as you guys stay near me, you should be fine."

"Sounds fine with me," Captain Austin said as he got up and headed for the exit hatch of the ship in order to prepare for the drop, "Captain Sterling, do you want to make another little contest of this second joint exercise?"

"The only thing I want is to get Dr. Beckett home safe and sound," Martin replied calmly as he joined his counterpart. They secured their own harnesses and cords as the hatch opened and the troop transport leveled off and began to hover. They could see a snowy rocky mountain plateau about fifty feet below them and the edges of a large glowing Parallax bubble surrounding the immediate area.

From the cockpit of the transport, the copilot stuck her head back in the doorway, "Captains, you are clear for drop. We'll be standing by for extraction and wait for your signal."

"Understood. Wish us luck. Bara?"

The Green Nova Ranger gave a thumbs up and jumped from the aircraft, rappelling down on his cable and nimbly landing on the cliff edge. He kept watch as the two teams quickly followed behind and slid down on their ropes to join him. Once they were all on the ground, the transport craft rose in the air and took off to fly a holding pattern around the mountainsides. The STARs immediately fanned out into a defensive formation and covered the approach of the Nova Rangers behind them.

As the allies carefully made their approach toward the cave and the edge of the anomaly, Erik activated the Parallax Inhibitor and stepped forward bravely as it radiated a protective aura of particles to counter the effects of the distortion. While the Rangers fell in line with Erik, the STARs hesitated for a moment prompting Ella to give a mild chuckle of amusement, "What's wrong? I didn't think a bunch of big tough Special Forces guys would be afraid of a little time bubble."

Captain Austin snorted and waved his men forward to join the Rangers. While they walked into the murky swirling vortex of displaced reality, the STARs couldn't help but marvel for a moment at the thrill and the terror of passing through such a strange phenomenon. At the lead of the party, Bharata already morphed and led the way using the advanced navigation tools and sensors in his helmet. The Green Ranger guided them through the narrow winding mountain approach to the lip of the cave mouth, "All right. We made it. Sensors are picking up strong subspace transmissions coming from inside the caves. I'm guessing that's the epicenter of it all."

Martin nodded and joined him at the front of the formation, "Thanks Bara. Erin and Ella, get those explosives ready. Captain Austin, you and your men are with me."

The group made their way deeper into the dark caverns and followed the bright light of their powerful flashlights. They passed several Eidolon soldiers and Reaver hounds frozen in place in the corridors of the cavern avoiding them just enough to keep the effects of the Inhibitor from freeing them from their stasis. Eventually, the rescue party followed the signals until they reached a large wide upon cavern where they found the source of the signal along with Lucy and Commander Vivisectus.

Upon reaching Lucy, the effects of the Inhibitor washed over her and she stumbled backwards into the Rangers. She blinked in confusion and looked about in disorientation suddenly being surrounded by the Rangers and UNAF soldiers. Unlike her normally prim and composed self in her lab, she now looked haggard, frightened, and vulnerable. Martin immediately held her steady and looked her in the eye, "Hey Luce. We're here for you. You're safe now."

Through her cracked glasses she gave a relieved sob and buried her head into the shoulder of her friend, "Oh God... Martin? Is that really you?"

He put a gentle hand over her head as he held her for a moment, "Easy does it. We're going to get you out of here. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

She raised her head up and frowned to herself tiredly, "I… I think so."

Erik glanced over and caught sight of the small bruise and cut on her forehead where the Xeno had backhanded her, "Looks like just a scratch Doc. I'll take care of it when we get to the transport."

Dr. Beckett brushed aside a loose strand of her dirty blonde hair and struggled to get her brain in gear again, "Oh my gosh... that Xeno commander! He's right there! And the Parallax module..."

"No worries Dr. B. We're all over it," Bharata called as he gestured to Ella and Erin who were finishing planting some explosive charges on the transmitting device. As he said that, everyone noticed the Inhibitor's shield begin to flicker.

"Captain Sterling? What's going on here?" Austin called hesitantly as he and his men continued to stand guard over the room.

Lucy rose to her feet and pushed past everyone toward the device. Erin glanced up in surprise, "Doctor? What are you doing?"

"I've got to shut this thing down first. If I don't, the Inhibitor will give out and we we'll all be trapped here. We have to stabilize the subspace field or it's only going to keep spreading and detonating those bombs won't help."

"But the Xenos will be unfrozen! We'll have to fight our way out of the cave!" one of the STARs protested while gesturing to the frozen Vivisectus.

Captain Austin grimaced before turning back to Lucy, "It looks like we're screwed either way. Do what you've got to do Doc."

Lucy nodded and quickly went to work on the module typing in key codes she had set herself so that she could disable the device. Moments later, the device powered down and the Parallax field subsided, freeing everyone trapped inside it. As that happened, all hell broke loose in that cave. Several STARs opened fire on some of the Eidolon guards at point blank range while the Rangers began to make a hasty retreat for the exit.

The Xeno commander Vivisectus turned and blinked in shock as he spotted the new intruders amid the ensuing chaos. He was struck several times by laser rifle fire but the las bolts harmlessly bounced off his armor. He reared up and roared furiously, "Rangers! What are you doing here?"

"Okay... time to go!" Ella called as she pushed Lucy over toward a group of the STARs, "Go with them now Doc! Hurry! They'll get you to safety!"

While they escaped, the mantis monster began to advance on the Rangers and spread his razor pincers as Captain Austin and the remaining STARs began a close quarters firefight with the Xeno foot soldiers in the caves. The Red Ranger brandished his morpher quickly, "All right, let's put this guy down as a team. Ready?"

" _Energize_!" came the unified response as all five teammates activated their moprhers and called upon their Ranger suits.

Vivisectus recoiled for a moment from te bright light before he saw the five draw their Nova Striker blades which glowed menacingly. Erik and Ella raised their guards and nodded as the Blue Ranger gave a shout, "Let's take it to em!"

The Blue and Pink Rangers charged first and clashed their blades against the metal claws of the alien. As the alien turned them aside, Bharata and Erin wove in and tumbled nimbly through the melee blocking strikes from the secondary blade arms of the insectoid's shoulder appendages. Despite their teamwork, the Xeno held them to a standstill and moved to dodge a blow from the Red Ranger next. Vivisectus parried aside Erik's next blow and kicked Erin aside while blocking Ella and slashing Bharata away.

Amid the chaos, Martin darted in to cover his comrade and grappled with the commander for several moments. Despite his best efforts, the Ranger was overpowered and thrown aside by the stronger Xeno. While the others continued to tangle with the commander, Bharata tried to rise to his feet again but was tackled by one of the Xeno Reaver hounds who had broken loose in the chaos.

The Green Ranger gasped as the mutant dog snarled furiously and snapped its large maw at him, all while trying to pin him to the ground. Seeing his comrade's plight, Captain Austin glanced over and pulled a frag grenade from his belt, "Lieutenant!"

Bharata watched as the STAR tossed him the grenade and let it roll into his hand. The Green Ranger quickly pulled the pin and stuffed the explosive down the mouth of the beast before throwing it off of him with his feet. "Whoah! Bad dog!"

The Reaver rolled clear several meters toward the wall and turned to charge again before it exploded into a mess of bionic parts and muscle tissues. As the battle raged, some of the splatter hit Ella's suit causing her to recoil in momentary disgust, "Ohh! Geez Bara! Gross!"

As the Rangers struggled to keep Vivisectus tied down, Captain Austin reloaded his rifle and shouted as one of his men carried another wounded STAR toward the exit, "Rangers! You have to move! We can't hold this position forever!"

The Red Ranger slashed Vivisectus and ducked aside as Erik sent the monster flying back toward the Parallax tower with a powerful kick, "You heard the man. Let's go! Lt. Reilly, I think now would be a good time to bring the house down."

"Yes sir!" she replied eagerly as she pulled the detonator to the C-4 explosives.

"Where do you Rangers think you're going?" the Xeno shouted as he rose to his feet and began to pursue the retreating human Rangers and soldiers.

Ella activated her force shield and turned to help cover her allies as they fled, "Sorry ugly! We've got a plane to catch! Hit it Erin!"

The Yellow Ranger pushed the detonator and the explosives erupted into a spectacular explosion. The blast engulfed the murderous insectoid alien and spread through the inner cave incinerating the Parallx tower as well as the other Eidolon soldiers and Reaver hounds nearby. As they dashed for the exit of the cave, the Rangers felt the shockwave of the blast right behind them and raised their shields just in time to let the sheer force of the explosion throw them out into the open.

Up ahead on the cliff side, Dr. Beckett and some of the STARs turned around when they saw the Rangers and the rest of Austin's men tumble to safety amid the edge of the blast. Everyone took several moments to recover after having been shaken up and began helping each other stand. Erik shook his head out and tapped the side of it, "Damn girls... you laid those bombs out pretty well. My ears are still ringing."

"You don't suppose anyone survived that blast, do you?" Ella asked, "I'd imagine those charges probably caused a huge cave in."

Bharata stood scanning the area by the smoking cavemouth with his sensors before pointing his finger in shock, "Uh... guys? Don't speak too soon. Look!"

To everyone's amazement, they watched as the mangled form of the Xeno commander Vivisectus staggered out of the cave. His armor was scorched, burnt, and torn in several places and he was missing two appendages: one of his normal arms and one of his additional mantis claws. He dragged himself forward and trudged along with a drunken gait while speaking, "You think you can stop the Xeno Machina that easily? I... will... eviscerate all of you."

Now that they were in open transport range, Martin hit a button on his morpher calling Lucy's lab tech back at Atlantis Base, "Julian! We could use your help right about now. How about sending us that Prism Cannon?"

"Right away Captain! Stand by!" came the younger man's reply as he keyed in some commands from the lab and teleported the Rangers their heavy cannon.

The STARs backed off and watched with impressed looks as the Rangers quickly formed up and loaded the cannon in the wake of the advancing alien. As they finished loading and aiming, Erik turned to Martin, "Isn't this all a little much?"

Erin turned her head, "Nope. The Xeno brought his little knives to a gunfight, right Captain?"

The Red Ranger locked on target and pulled the trigger, "Except we just brought a howitzer instead. Fire!"

The Rangers fired the cannon and a powerful beam of concentrated energy slammed into the Xeno destroying him where he stood and incinerating the remainders against the mountainside. The STARs stood speechless at the sight of such a powerful weapon and gawked as a small rockslide began to roll down the other side of the cliff as a result of the discharged energy.

As the UNAF transport aircraft came back around the bend of the mountain and began to descend, the Rangers continued to watch the small avalanche they had caused from the destruction of the Xeno leader until Bharata piped up, "Okay... maybe it was a little much after all."

Everyone stopped and stared at him for a long moment before the Rangers and a few of the STARs nearby broke out into giddy laughs of relief, glad to be free of their harrowing ordeal. As the Rangers lowered their cannon, they glanced over and caught the haggard but exhausted face of Lucy watching them with a gentle smile. She gave a small thumbs up and they couldn't help but smile in return as the allied transport craft landed and extended its loading ramp to the rescue party.

The same female copilot gave a wave and grinned, "Hey! Looks like you guys could use a ride. You want a lift back to Moscow or what?"

* * *

Upon finally returning to Atlantis Base, General Caldwell and a large group of fellow servicemen and civilian staff were there to welcome the Rangers and the STARs home from their rescue operation. Not only had they succeeded in rescuing Dr. Beckett, but they had stopped the Parallax Crisis and took out another Xeno field commander in battle. As they stepped off the transit platform, the surprised rescuers were met with a loud chorus of cheers and applause from their colleagues.

As people there began to make way and mill about the transporter room, a medical team stepped forward and met with a few of the STARs who had been hurt in the operation. Caldwell stepped forward with a warm smile and addressed his young charges, "Nova Squadron. Captain Austin. Well done... all of you."

"Thank you sir," the soldiers all replied straightening up while giving exhausted salutes.

Caldwell turned to Lucy and put his hands on her shoulders in a fatherly way, "Dr. Beckett... welcome home."

She tiredly nodded and returned the smile, "Thank you General. Glad to be back."

As Julian Wilson stepped forward to happily greet his boss and lead her away to the infirmary, General Caldwell pulled the Rangers and Captain Austin aside, "Everyone, you've done a spectacular thing these past few days but this conflict is far from over. The Xenos have still landed a number of their forces through those portals and they'll be lurking... ready to strike from the shadows."

"We'll be ready for them," Jeffery Austin said firmly, "And we'll beat them wherever whenever they show their ugly faces. Hopefully they learned a big lesson from all this."

"Yeah... to leave all the mad science to the professionals like Dr. Beckett," Ella quipped earning a few laughs from the others.

Caldwell stepped back, "Well... I'll let you all rest and recover tonight. I'll debrief you tomorrow afternoon at thirteen hundred hours. Dismissed."

Everyone watched Caldwell depart before Captain Austin turned to the Rangers, "Well... it's been fun, but I've got see to my men. I don't imagine my unit be stationed here at Atlantis Base for too much longer, but the General said we might still be called in here from time to time."

"Thank you again for you help today Jeff. We probably couldn't have done it without you," Martin said quietly.

Jeff kept his chin high and silently sized up the Rangers one last time before turning to walk away with an amused snort, "Well... I guess there might still be some hope for Nova Squad yet. Just remember you owe us. I'll see ya round Sterling."

As they watched him depart, Erin sighed and crossed her arms, "I don't know guys. I still think he's kind of an asshole."

"Yeah, but for now let's just be glad that asshole in on our side," Erik answered with a quiet smile as he put his around the others and led them toward the exit of the room amid the praise and chatter of the other base personnel.

* * *

As evening set in over Atlantis Base, the gentle sounds of the calm ocean waves echoed in the air. Even the occasional roar of jet engines from the runways of the floating station's North End was strangely absent. For now, an unusual quiet and stillness set in as there were no Pegasus or Kestrel fighters flying patrols tonight. From the balcony of her little apartment in the West End, Lucy Beckett stood looking out over the glittering lights of the city against the night skies. It was a beautiful sight and after her harrowing experience, she was glad to be back in the familiar safety of her home. After a long shower and a hot meal, she just wanted to enjoy the comfort of clean clothes and a good book tonight. That was until the door chime sounded.

She glanced over in surprise and ambled into her living room, "Come in."

As the door swished open, she saw the Red Ranger enter wearing a tired but relieved expression. Like her, he had cleaned up and was wearing his normal duty uniform along with a faint smile, "Hey Luce. Sorry to drop by unannounced. I know it's kinda late, but I wanted to check up on you to make sure you were doing okay."

She returned the smile and nodded as he entered the apartment and walked into the living room, "Thanks, and it's okay. I'm doing good now."

She gestured to the kitchen area, "I already ate, but can I get you anything? Water? Coffee maybe?"

"No. That's okay," he said gently while walking out on the balcony overlooking the city, "I just came for the company. How are you holding up?"

She shrugged and joined him while they leaned on the railing side by side looking at the lights, "I dunno… as well as one can be after getting captured and nearly killed by a pack of murderous aliens. To be honest, I have no idea how you Rangers do it… going out there day after day, risking your lives and facing down those horrifying monsters."

"After this battle, I take it you'll never want to leave your lab again?" he said lightly nudging her shoulder with his.

She gave a mild frown and huffed slightly, "It's not like that. I'm just saying I don't think I'm cut out for field duty. You guys make it look so easy when you go into battle."

"It never really gets easier," Martin admitted quietly, "You just learn how to manage that fear a little better over time."

She gave a slightly wry grin, "Really. I have a hard time imagining that the Red Ranger of Nova Squadron was just as afraid as I was."

"Well believe it," he said slowly turning to face her, "To be honest, the thing that scared me most was when that Xeno took you away from us. Without the help of my other teammates and the STARs… well, I'm not sure how I would have handled it."

Lucy tilted her head in slight confusion as she faced her friend, "Martin? What is it? You have a strange look on your face just now."

He stepped forward and closed the distance between them, gently reaching up to brush aside her hair where she had been struck by the alien, "Lucy… I know this sounds kinda weird and maybe now isn't the best time to say this but…"

"What is it?" she asked hesitantly.

Martin sighed and looked her in the eyes, "The thought of nearly losing you... well, it put several things into perspective for me. Things I honestly hadn't thought about for quite some time. Things like how much our friendship means to me… or how much you mean to me personally.

Dr. Beckett blinked in surprise and felt her cheeks grow warm, "Martin… you don't mean like...

"I do," he said touching her cheek lightly and drawing it back slowly.

She glanced aside, "I... I don't know what to say… I mean, this is crazy."

"I know… maybe it is, but I'm not sure I would have been able to live with myself if I didn't get a chance to tell you. This conflict with the Xenos has been hard on us, especially you and I. But you've always been there for me and I think you know you can always count on me too."

"Of course," she replied, "But you and me? Together like that? There are so many reasons that might be a bad idea. I'm responsible for your safety and the maintenance of your weaponry out there. This could jeopardize our ability to focus and could cloud our judgment. Aren't you afraid of what might happen?"

"Of course I'm afraid, but like I said, I'll learn to manage that fear… especially when it comes to you."

He leaned in slowly and moved to place a gentle kiss on her lips but she moved her head away at the last moment. He stopped and stepped back a pace with a mixture of surprise and hurt in his face. She lowered her head and sighed. "I… I'm sorry Martin. I can't do this. Not right now. You know I care about you too, and our friendship means everything to me but…"

"But what?"

Lucy took another deep breath and looked wistfully out toward the glittering lights of the city and what would have been an otherwise perfect romantic backdrop. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm afraid… afraid of danger and uncertainty, especially the kind that comes from um… changing the nature of our relationship like this. I don't want to risk losing something that's already special and precious to me."

He remained silent and tried to keep a stoic face while she continued. "Listen, I've never really had much experience with relationships and I'm not exactly sure I'm cut out for this kind of thing either. I'm flattered you think of me this way and believe me, there's a part of me that would want this too, but I'm just not sure I'm the right girl who can give you what you need right now, especially with all these other responsibilities and things going on in our lives."

The Red Ranger remained silent and took in her words while trying to mask his unhappiness at the unexpected turn of events. "Are you really sure about this Luce? I mean, I'm sorry if I sprung this on you all of a sudden. If you need time to think this over…"

She shook her head slowly and gave a sad apologetic look, "I'm sorry Martin… I didn't mean to hurt you like this."

He nodded and sucked in a breath while trying to maintain whatever shreds of dignity he had left, "I see... well, it's getting late. I should leave now."

She moved to follow him off the balcony but he quickly held up a hand and looked away, "It's fine... I'll see myself out."

Lucy grimaced and tried to reach up and give him a little consoling kiss on the cheek but he backed away again. He forced a neutral expression on his face and gave a military style nod before heading for the door, "Good night Dr. Beckett."

Once the door closed behind him, Lucy exhaled deeply and stood looking out over the city again but this time the lights didn't seem as beautiful or wondrous. She had hurt her best friend and unlike doing differential equations or fixing a mechanical problem for the Ranger gear, this was one problem that had no easy elegant solution.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Hey! Hopefully you guys enjoyed the Parallax Crisis arc and despite the kinda downer ending, I did promise a short light hearted plot next. Hopefully our heroes will be able to enjoy their well deserved downtime with some surf, sun, and free passes to a major world festival. After all, what could possibly go wrong?**


	23. When in Rome

**Mission 11: Part 1  
**

Within the depths of the Xeno Machina flagship grounded on the moon, Warmaster Hellspont made his way down to the vessel's grisly laboratories to supervise the latest experiments of their scientists. While their backdoor invasion of Earth had been repelled, the Xenos had still succeeded in capturing a handful of Terran prisoners: both civilians and soldiers. As he strolled past several murky birthing tubes where artificial foot soldiers were created, Hellspont neared a blood spattered table to supervise the progress of a science drone as it performed some experiments. The subject on the table was a severely wounded UNAF soldier who was undergoing surgery to be recreated into a Xeno battle drone.

What the Xenos needed right now was time to regroup and marshal their forces for a new push on Earth. The Xenos had taken a gamble but another frustrating stalemate was setting in and that unnerved the Warmaster. He wanted action and desired the chance to prove his strength, especially against the Nova Rangers. For now, he would have to settle for a means to distract the humans. He ambled over to one of the senior lab technicians, a freakish Xeno with multiple spidery appendages protruding from his back.

"Doctor, I'm growing impatient. Have you made progress on any more of the hybrid warriors yet?"

The spidery scientist who wore a sinister rebreather folded his multiple arms and gestured to another lab table, "Yes Warmaster. Come see for yourself."

On the platform lay a large Xeno warrior who looked to have the appearance of some kind of large reptile. Heavy gladiator style armor was fitted in various places over the monstrous alien creation who upon closer inspection bore some physical similarities to a humanoid crocodile.

"Isn't it wonderful?" the Xeno scientist asked, "The biomechanical augmentations we've designed for this warrior have increased his strength and endurance, and should allow him to be best suited for amphibious attacks on population centers."

"Excellent. I know exactly where I'm going to use him," Hellspont said with a smile, "There is a city on Earth where many humans have been gathering from of late. They've been coming to celebrate a traditional period of peace and athletic competitions. We will strike there when their guards are down in hopes that the death and destruction will demoralize the humans."

He gestured to the warrior on the table and began to make his way out of the lab, "Prepare the hybrid and launch its pod immediately. I don't want any of those Terrans to know what hit them."

* * *

It had been a busy morning in the Atlantis Base Research and Development labs as Lt. Erin Reilly stood at a computer imputing codes while Julian West worked to test some of the circuitry for the device they were working on. The electronic gadget was a compact and simple looking circular disc with a few buttons and what looked to be a small audio speaker from the side. "Okay Erin. Try it now."

The Yellow Ranger cleared her throat and walked over to the table speaking in Chinese. Julian listened and sighed as half of the words came out in English while the rest devolved into a garbled mess. He set down the device and crossed his arms with a thoughtful frown, "Well… it was better than last time, but it looks like we've got a ways to go yet."

Erin picked up the device and bounced in her hand, "Well… Rome wasn't built in a day. I guess we should expect a ton of setbacks when we're designing a universal translator device, right?"

Julian smiled brightly, "Well I still think it's a brilliant idea. Just think, if you can wind up using this to eventually help us understand the Xeno's own language, it'll be a big step forward in understanding them and the Adventi aliens too."

Erin chuckled and put down the faulty translator while gracing the young Australian tech with a smile, "Well Julian, I really appreciate you coming in on your off day to help me out. It was really sweet of you to volunteer your time."

"Oh… well, it was nothing really. I'm always happy to help you Erin," he replied with a slightly shy stammer, "I'm just glad Dr. Beckett let you borrow me for this project. She's been acting kinda weird these past several weeks."

Erin glanced over and caught sight of Dr. Beckett across the lab scrutinizing the work of some of her staff. She looked a bit frazzled and tense and the Yellow Ranger could only wonder if the reason was because of something personal. "I guess so. She does look a little more wound up than usual. I guess that means we should take a break, huh?"

"Good idea!" Julian said cheerfully, "Maybe you and I could go over to the mess hall, grab some lunch, and…"

Julian was cut off as Erik and Ella entered the lab. The Blue and Pink Rangers immediately spotted Erin and headed over to her table. They waved hello to Julian before Ella bounded over and gave a smile, "Erin! There you are! Erik and I were looking all over for you!"

"Oh? Is something wrong?"

Erik grinned and gently popped Erin on the forehead with his finger, "Yes. We have an off day and you're here working in the lab being a nerd. I was thinking we should do something fun instead. How does going swimming sound? I mean for God's sake, we're surrounded by the ocean!"

Erin scratched her chin, "Well… it is getting a bit warm outside. I guess swimming sounds fine."

"Huh… and here I just thought Erik was looking for an excuse to see us in our swimsuits," Ella smirked while gently poking him in the side.

"Darn. You saw right through my brilliant plan," Erik said playing along in a deadpan voice.

At that moment, the Rangers' morphers sounded and the three of them looked down to see them blinking. Erin switched off the signal and gave a sigh, "I guess swimming will have to wait. The General calls. Let's go."

Much to poor Julian's dismay, he gave a deflated sigh and plopped back down on his stool, "Oh well... I guess we'll just have to take a raincheck on lunch after all."

* * *

Bharata Timothy shifted his weight on the padded floors of the gym training room as he blocked a right cross from Martin and hooked his forearm around his opponent's. Turning the momentum of the Red Ranger's attack against him, Bharata rolled sideways and dropped Martin to the ground with a swift judo style shoulder throw.

Bharata shook his head as he crouched down and offered a hand to his friend on the ground, "Are you okay Martin?"

"I'm fine Bara. Let's try that again," the Red Ranger mumbled while continuing to lay on the ground.

Bharata sighed, "Captain, I think we should take a little break from sparring. You're just getting your ass kicked now."

"I think I just need to practice more then," Martin grumbled letting the Green Ranger help him up.

"And I think you're a little distracted sir. Trust me. Take a break."

The two got off the sparring mats and sat down to rest. As they drank some water from their water bottles, they enjoyed the relative moment of peace and quiet. Several weeks had passed since the Nova Rangers had stopped the Parallax Crisis and an unusual calm had settled in across the globe. Spring had given way to Summer and the Xeno Machina aliens were likely regrouping after having been repelled in their last great push for Earth. Still, not everyone had been enjoying the interim tranquility.

The Red Ranger took another swig before tossing aside his water bottle and stretching out, "You know Bara, I've been spending a lot of time at the pistol range, flying patrols, and now getting my ass handed to me in the gym and I'm still not feeling much better."

The Green Ranger nodded pensively while thinking over Martin's vague words. He had been referring to a recent rift between himself and Dr. Beckett over a personal matter. The Red Ranger had remained tight lipped about everything, but the whole squad knew in no uncertain terms that his romantic feelings toward Dr. Beckett must have been rebuffed, otherwise the two of them wouldn't have been in such gloomy moods recently. Bharata lay back and tried to put on a positive face, "Tell you what Captain. Why don't we go out and blow off some steam in the West End tonight? Just you, me, and Erik. We can shoot some pool, have a couple beers, and make it a guy's night out... you know?"

"Thanks Bara, but I don't know. I'm just not feeling it."

The Green Ranger hopped up to his feet and offered a hand to his C.O. "Come on Martin. You've been in a bit of a funk lately. It's not going to do you or the team any good to have you moping around over some girl... err, even if it is Dr. Beckett."

The Red Ranger stared at him a moment before giving a sigh and taking Bharata's hand, "Well... maybe you are kinda right. I'm guessing the whole team knows about this?"

"Umm... the topic might have come up here and there," Bharata said evasively which earned him a mild eye roll.

Before they could talk any further, their Nova Morphers chimed and General Caldwell's voice was heard, "Martin? Bharata? I want you both to report to my briefing room. There's something I'd like to discuss with your squad... good news actually."

"We could always use more of that," Bharata smiled as Martin raised his own morpher in reply.

"Right away General. Sterling out."

After leaving the gym and heading to the command tower, the two Rangers met with the rest of their team in Caldwell's briefing room. They took seats at the table and looked on curiously while the older base commander stood with a pleased look, "Thank you for coming Nova Squad. Like I said before, I had some good news I wanted to share with you."

"Are we getting new weapons?" Erin asked hopefully.

Ella gave her fellow female Ranger a gentle nudge, "You're not thinking big enough girl. Are we getting promotions?"

Caldwell laughed gently and waved it off, "I'm sorry girls, but no. I do have something that's just as good. With the Xenos laying low for the time being, I've decided to give your team a little bit of R&R. I'm authorizing the five of you to go on a little working vacation."

Martin blinked in surprise and struggled to comprehend the unusual order, "I'm sorry sir... a vacation? Where?"

Caldwell gestured to a holographic display of a map and pointed, "To the city of Rome, Italy."

"Italy? Really? I get to go home?" Ella exclaimed in excitement.

Erik scratched his chin curiously, "Wait... Rome? Isn't that where the Olympic Games are being held right now?"

"Precisely Lieutenant," Caldwell grinned, "I've been notified by the International Olympic Committee that they'd be honored if Nova Squad would come to visit and serve as goodwill ambassadors of the UNAF."

Bharata frowned in confusion, "General, the Olympic Games are all about peace and cooperation. Last I checked, we're military people and its our job to well... fight."

"Very true Lieutenant Timothy, but the IOC believes your team embodies a lot of positive things too. To them, Nova Squad is a multinational team who promote cooperation and working together towards one goal, which in this case is fighting for peace against the alien threat. They've offered you tickets and accommodations if you're interested."

"Well, I guess it is for a good cause... and some good PR for our team and the UNAF couldn't hurt either," Erin smiled to herself.

" _Va bene_! We're going to the Olympics!" Ella cheered in excitement while letting some of her Italian slip into her speech.

Martin crossed his arms, "Hold on Ella. I feel like there's still some sort of catch here. General, you said a working vacation, correct?"

Caldwell folded his hands behind his back and nodded, "Indeed Captain. While the five of you would be going as ambassadors, I'd like you to keep a lookout for any threat of Xeno attack there and serve as an extra layer of security for the events."

Erik couldn't help but smile, "If that's the only condition, then I'm sold! Count me in sir!"

Caldwell nodded and turned back to the Red Ranger in amusement, "Captain? Do you think your team is up to the assignment?"

The whole table turned to him and Martin gave a sigh while limply pumping his fist, "Wooo. We're going to Rome."

* * *

The next day, the five Nova Rangers packed their bags and teleported in to a large open plaza in downtown Rome. While they wore their light summer uniforms, they could immediately feel the Mediterranean heat and the bright glare of the summer sun above. Here and there citizens and tourists strolled about while a large stone obelisk rose up and cast a tall shadow over the square flanked by a few small basilica buildings. Over the communicators, Lucy spoke in a subdued voice, "Transport complete Rangers. Welcome to Rome. You're in..."

She was cut off as Ella excitedly paced about and looked around with a big smile, "I know exactly where this is. Piazza del Popolo. We're not far from downtown and Vatican City is just to the West of here across the Tiber River."

"I see you all won't be at a loss for a tour guide," Lucy sighed in resignation.

Bharata chuckled, "Not to worry Doctor B. You sure you don't want to come along and sightsee for a day too?"

"That's quite all right Lieutenant. I've got... other things to take care of in the lab," she replied quickly.

The others exchanged a knowing look with each other before Martin cleared his throat and spoke in a short but professional military tone, "Understood Lucy. We'll meet with the IOC rep and check in with Caldwell at nineteen hundred hours. Sterling out."

He cut off communication and glanced over to see Ella continuing to walk around the plaza grinning ear to ear.

"So, is it good to be home?" Erin asked while coming to join her female comrade.

"Actually the city of Milano up north is where I grew up," the Pink Ranger explained drifting into her local accent again, "But I've still got a lot of family here and I've visited Roma fairly often."

Erik glanced around at the old classical architecture and the impressive size of the plaza, "Well if that's true, then I'm looking forward to a good tour full of the best wine and pasta around."

"I think that can be arranged," she winked before Erin waved them both off.

"Hold on now. We've still got the Olympics going on here, remember? Free passes to the events?"

She was interrupted as a tall clean cut middle aged man in a fine suit approached the Rangers to greet them. He had tanned Mediterranean features along with salt and pepper hair and a surprisingly strong build for a man his age. " _Buon giorno_ and welcome to Roma! You are the Nova Rangers I take it?"

The others nodded as he continued, "My name is Gianlucca Rossi, local representative of the IOC. It's an honor to have you visit."

"The pleasure is ours Mr. Rossi," Martin answered politely as he shook the man's hand and introductions were exchanged. After exchanging a few brief words and a laugh in Italian with Ella, Mr. Rossi gestured toward a waiting SUV.

"The Olympic Village is set up not far from here and your hotels are nearby too. We'll give you a lift there and go through the agenda that General Caldwell forwarded to us?"

"It's a free trip to Italy guys. Whatever we have to do, it's worth it," Erik reminded his teammates as they loaded their bags and piled into the cab.

* * *

After checking in to their rooms and sitting through an events briefing, the Rangers left their hotel a few hours later and made their way out to the scenic promenades and beautiful grassy parkways of the Villa Borghese Gardens located nearby. Ponds and fountains lined with white marble dotted the public park as citizens and tourists alike milled about enjoying the beautiful afternoon. While they walked together, they chatted idly and tried getting acquainted to having idle free time to roam about and explore... a far cry from their normally structured and disciplined schedules of military life.

"I don't know guys. I can't decide," Erin mused while paging through an events listing, "I kinda wanna watch some Track and Field events if anyone is willing to go with me."

"I'll go if you come with me to the Judo competition. Then you've got yourself a deal," Bharata said before he and the Yellow Ranger shook hands on their agreement.

Erik scratched his chin, "Hmm, Basketball and Volleyball should be fun. I've heard Germany finally has some good teams this year so maybe I could watch that."

"Unless any of you want to go get a taste of the local food and culture?" Ella suggested, "I was thinking of taking a little time out to visit some of my aunts and uncles."

"Do they err... cook as well as you do?" Bharata asked hesitantly.

"Oh, they're much better than me. My Aunt Michelina is actually a professional chef with her own restaurant."

Erik chuckled, "Okay then. In that case, I'll volunteer for duty. How about you Captain? Anything you wanted to see or do?"

Martin gave a noncommital shrug and a half hearted sigh, "Oh... I don't know, maybe see the ruins? Or catch some of the Swimming events? The U.S. always seems to do pretty well there."

"You don't sound too thrilled Martin. Lighten up for a change," Ella said as she patted his arm encouragingly, "It's no secret that you're bummed about the umm... situation with Dr. B so just forget it! You're on vacation! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the magic of this city. Have some cannoli and drink a glass of wine. You'll feel like yourself in no time. Trust me."

The Red Ranger smiled slightly from his friend's positive encouragement, "Thanks Ella but..."

"But what?" Bharata asked giving a frown as their leader trailed off.

"But I think we've got a little more work to do," Erik answered while pointing dead ahead to where another monstrous Xeno Machina hybrid warrior erupted from one of the waterways running through the parks. The alien monster was a large humanoid except it had a thick hide of dark green armored scales and ridges down its back along with a powerful tail and an oversized steel crocodilian jaw to add to its menacing appearance.

"Oh geez! We're off the clock! Is nothing sacred?" Erin groaned but Ella was already charging forward and reaching for her morpher.

"Oh hell no! You are not trashing this place! Not on my watch!"

Erik and Bharata dashed after her and followed suit with morphing in a bright colored light, "Ella! Wait up!"

As the three Rangers pulled their Nova Striker blades, Erin and Martin held off on morphing for the moment and scrambled to direct some of the panicked civilians safely away from the area. With the extra tourists present, it unfortunately didn't make things any easier to direct traffic and manage the violent chaos.

"Where did this guy come from?" Bharata asked as he swept into melee range and slashed with his blade only to have it glance off of the Xeno's thick armored hide.

"He must have slipped in under the radar. Swimming up through the waterways or sewers?" Ella guessed as she also slashed with her weapon and got the same result.

Erik threw his shoulder into the crocodilian Xeno trying to push it back, "We'll figure it out later. Right now we need a new approach to take on Croc Bot over here. Dr. Beckett?"

On the other end, Lucy hurriedly put on her headset as she arrived to her station at the Command Tower in response to the sudden attack, "Croc Bot... very cute Dobermann. We're scanning now. Stand by Rangers."

The Xeno didn't give them any more time as it snarled and swept its powerful tail around to knock Erik, Bharata, and Ella backwards into the grass. The newly dubbed Croc Bot swiveled its head aroud and clamped down on a stone park bench with its oversized robotic jaws. Using its great strength, the Xeno violently whipped its head around and hurled the stone bench through the air to smash into a nearby café that had been set up along the walking path of the park.

While several civilians screamed and scattered, Martin turned and saw one young woman in a red white and blue sports jacket trying to flee from the table she was at, only she was directly in the way of the flying bench. The Red Ranger threw himself forward and tackled her to the ground in order to get clear of the projectile just in time. They tumbled to a stop on the grass several feet away as Martin stopped and rolled the civilian off of him before giving her a quick glance. She was a pretty girl in her mid twenties with long dark brown hair and tanned features that could have hinted at Mediterranean or possibly Middle Eastern heritage. At the moment, she stared at him wide eyed in shock while he spoke quickly, "Are you okay Miss?"

She nodded dumbly as the Ranger sprung to his feet and raised his morpher, "Good. Just stay down and try to get to cover. _Energize_!"

In a flash of red light, he morphed and pulled his blaster pistol while Erin followed suit across the walkway. The Yellow Ranger leveled her weapon and switched her Nova Blaster to overcharge mode. "Let's give our friends a hand Captain. Give em the one two punch?"

"Sounds like a plan Reilly. Ladies first," Martin answered as he charged his pistol and readied an attack with his comrade.

Just as their other three allies rolled clear, the Yellow and Red Rangers fired their overcharged pistols together and the energy blast momentarily staggered the Croc Bot. While the supercharged lasers seared part of his skin, the resulting burst of light stung the sensitive eyes of the Xeno causing it to recoil and lurch sideways. The other three Rangers used that moment as an opportunity to strike and leapt at the Xeno hammering him with combined sword slashes. Dazed and disoriented, the crocodilian Xeno roared and dove back into the waters to retreat from battle for the time being.

"Damn! He got away!" Bharata grumbled as he deactivated his vibro sword and folded it up again. "Did you pick up anything useful Doctor B?"

Lucy's voice replied over the comm in what sounded like she was shaking her head, "hard to say Lieutenant. We picked up some data, but we're going to be working on sorting through it."

Erik nodded and shot an appreciative thumbs up toward Erin as the Nova Rangers all powered down. "Let's all just be grateful for some quick thinking by Erin over there."

Off to the side, Martin turned and offered a hand to the young woman who had been cowering on the grassy ground. If he had to guess, she was probably an athlete in the games and by the looks of her apparel, she was a fellow American too.

"Are you all right?" he asked as he helped her stand.

She nodded again in a daze before giving a grateful smile, "Yeah… um, thank you for saving my life. I honestly wasn't expecting to run into a real life Power Ranger today."

The Red Ranger glanced down to find her hand still grasping his. She gave a sheepish look and withdrew it, "Oh, err… sorry about that... near death experience and all."

"It's all right. Hopefully that'll be your only one," he said politely while returning the smile, "I'm just glad you're safe."

He gave a dutiful nod and walked back off to join his teammates while the local authorities and rescue workers arrived at the scene to survey the incident. Erik was already busy chatting with Erin and the two wondered if they would have to prepare a formal incident report for Caldwell. As Martin approached, Ella rushed over and immediately grabbed his shirt collar while shaking him in excitement, "Oh my gosh! Captain! Is that who I think it was? Do you have any idea who you had just saved back there?"

"Uh… no. Should I?"

The Pink Ranger slapped her forehead and shook him some more, " _Mama mia_! Don't you know a famous person when you see them? That's Christina Lasky! She's a decorated gymnast and captain of the American team this year!"

The other Rangers exchanged blank expressions before Bharata shrugged, "You seem to be a follower of the sport. I'm guessing you're one of her fans?"

"Of course!" Ella replied, "Christina's only a couple years older than me which is all the more impressive. Twenty four is relatively old for a gymnast."

"I guess that makes you kinda old too," Erin playfully sniggered causing Ella to huff defensively.

"No! That's just more inspiration for me to do amazing things!"

"Like being the Pink Nova Ranger wasn't amazing enough already?" Bharata pointed out only to earn another exasperated huff from Ella.

Erik rolled his eyes gently before turning to Martin with a sly look, "So… did you get her number or something sir?"

The Red Ranger gave him a mildly reproving frown and started walking back toward the hotel, "Of course not. We're professionals here and we've got way more important things to worry about right now. Now I'm going to go clean up and figure out what to do about this new Xeno. Who's with me?"

The other four exchanged another look before Erin shrugged and began to follow her commander along with the others, "Well Xeno or not... I for one am not going to let some oversized handbag or my C.O. ruin my fun here. Who's with me?"

* * *

 **A/N: Part 1 of 4**


	24. Carrying the Torch

**Mission 11: Part 2  
**

The next morning, the Nova Rangers donned their dress blue uniforms and were taken to the city's downtown center where the Olympic events were being held. Upon reaching the central stadium, the five Rangers were brought to one of the building's large reception halls to be introduced to the news media as well as all the local admirers who turned out to see the new arrivals.

Throughout the short press conference, the team's liaison Mr. Rossi sat with them and helped moderate the event. As the interview wound down, a female news reporter raised a recorder and asked a few more questions, "Do you think it's possible that the alien who attacked the other day did so because you were here? And if so, how do you Rangers plan to respond?"

Erik sat up and fielded the question, "For now, it's probably best we don't speculate or assume anything about the Xeno that showed up yesterday. What I can tell you is that whether or not it shows up again, the five of us will be here to respond quickly and keep everyone at the games safe."

Erin nodded and added in the microphone, "Again, we'd like to thank Mr. Rossi and the IOC for inviting our team and letting us represent the brave men and women of the UNAF. We're hoping we can do our part to support the continued unity and friendship between nations that this whole event stands for."

Another young male reporter from the local press stood up and caused the crowd to laugh with a joking question, "One more question please, and this is for Miss Catalano. Are you single and if so, would you be willing to give me an exclusive interview over dinner?"

He spoke the last part in Italian and Ella laughed, replying back in her native tongue, "Ah! Sorry! That's very sweet of you, but I'm already spoken for."

She jokingly reached over in an exaggerated way and patted the cheek of Erik who was sitting next to her. "Thanks for the questions everyone!"

As the press dispersed to get back to the games, the Rangers were mobbed by a group of admiring civilians and several Olympic athletes who wanted to get pictures with them.

"Wow, I think I could get used to this!" Bharata laughed as he signed several autographs and shook hands, "I honestly feel like a rockstar right now."

"No complaints here either," the Blue Ranger smiled as he took several photos with some female volleyball players from Brazil and got a few kisses on the cheek for his troubles.

Meanwhile, Erin and Ella had their hands full taking selfies with the Japanese track team and laughing over a few jokes with some swimmers from the UK. While they did, Martin turned his attention back to his line and took a photo with a young female archer from Greece as well as shake hands with some of the men's cycling team from America. Once the crowds died down a little, he felt a tap on the shoulder and turned in surprise to see the familiar face of Christina Lasky again.

The young woman was still in her team apparel but she had tied her hair up with a red ribbon while wearing a sheepish smile and extending a hand, "Hi. Martin Sterling? We meet again."

"Oh… right. Seems that way," he said in surprise while returning the handshake, "Christina, right?"

"Oh. So you do know who I am?" she asked in amusement.

He shrugged and gave a mild chuckle towards Ella, "Actually, my teammate Ella over there is in your fan club. She pointed you out to me yesterday."

At the mention of her name, Ella turned and came over with a bright smile to shake hands, "Oh my gosh! Miss Lasky! I'm a huge fan of yours! You're so talented and graceful! I watched you kick butt in the last summer games in Tokyo! Can I get a photo with you? Oh, and maybe an autograph too?"

While the Pink Ranger occupied Christina for a few minutes, the other Rangers came over to regroup and plan their next move for the day. Erik folded his arms, "Hey boss, Ella and I are going to go visit her family's restaurant across town. Do you want to… oh? What's this? You have an admiring fan?"

"Don't say anything Dobermann," Martin huffed while raising a finger in warning.

He was interrupted as Ella tugged at his sleeve "Hey sir! Your visitor had something to ask you."

Christina smiled and nervously brushed aside a loose strand of her long dark hair as the other Rangers turned toward her to listen in, "Oh… well, I actually came today because I was wondering if I could borrow your captain for the afternoon."

She turned to Martin, "I wanted to say thank you again for saving me yesterday and offering to buy you lunch was the least I could do to repay you."

The Red Ranger blinked in surprise as he was caught off guard again, "Oh geez, um… that's very nice of you but you really don't have to…"

"What he means to say is that he'd love to join you for lunch," Erin cut in while giving him a gentle shove forward.

"But…"

Erik smiled and patted Martin's shoulder, "Relax boss. We can take care of things here. Go out and have some fun today. Ella and I will be out on the town while Bara and Erin will be around here watching some events. If Croc Bot shows up, we should be able to get there in time."

Erin rolled her eyes and sighed, "Seriously? Croc Bot? Is that the name we're really going with for that Xeno?"

As the younger Rangers devolved into a petty squabble amongst each other, Martin shook his head and turned back to Christina, "You know what? Maybe lunch doesn't sound so bad after all. I did see a nice little bistro a few blocks away."

"Great! It's a date then," she said in relief as they began to walk out of the stadium hallway.

As they passed the four squabbling Rangers who were still embroiled in their argument, Erik turned his head, "Captain? Will that be all?"

"Err… yes. Carry on Lieutenant. Clearly I can see that the squad is in good hands."

* * *

Later that day, Erik Dobermann and Ella Catalano took a short bus ride to the eastern districts of the city and got off near a crowded boulevard not too far from the ruins of the Coliseum. As they strolled past an old cathedral, they came across a shady parkway lined with olive trees where a row of apartments and neighborhood restaurants lined the path. They arrived at a quaint restaurant with stucco walls and a vaguely tuscan style décor. The sign above the place read "Buona Fortuna" or Good Fortune and upon entering, the two Rangers stopped as an older portly Italian woman with graying hair and a gentle face stopped near the kitchen and almost dropped a plate of fettuccini.

She set the food down and immediately rushed to the door giving a joyful cry as she threw her arms around Ella and covered her face with kisses, "Carmella! Welcome home _bambina_ (baby)! Everyone! Ella is here!"

Erik could only watch in amusement as a large gang of Ella's family members filed out of the kitchen and gathered around with smiles, hugs, and kisses for her. Among the loud boisterous crowd was an older gentleman who Erik guessed was the uncle along with several younger men and women who were most likely the cousins.

"It's good to see you again _Zia_ (Aunt)" Ella said as she greeted her other relatives. She turned to her fellow Ranger and gestured towards him, "Everyone, this is Erik Dobermann. Erik, this is… well... My-Big-Fat-Italian-Family."

"Pleased to meet you guys," Erik said timidly while offering a polite hand.

The portly woman wearing chef's clothes took his hand with a kind smile, "Welcome to my family restaurant my boy. I'm Ella's aunt, Michelina Castaldo. Come in! Come in! Sit down, and we'll get you two some food and wine!"

"Oh, I like her already," the Blue Ranger said as they were ushered toward a corner table and given a red carpet welcome.

After sitting down, the two Rangers were treated to a hearty meal of fresh bread, olive oil, pasta, salad, chicken romano, and a bottle of wine. After finishing the meal, Erik leaned back in his seat and gave a content sigh, "Oh wow. That food was amazing! Thank you so much Mrs. Castaldo."

Mrs. Castaldo smiled and patted Erik's shoulder, "You're very welcome! Ella, your _ragazzo_ (boyfriend) can really eat. I hope you're feeding him well."

"Wait… what?" Erik asked in surprise as he glanced over to Ella.

"Ah, there's no need to be so secretive about it," Mr. Castaldo laughed from across the table while drinking some coffee, "We all watched your interview with the press on television earlier today. Carmella, you didn't tell us you were dating one of your fellow Rangers. Your _Nonna_ (grandmother) will be very happy to hear it. She was always pestering you and trying to fix you up with every eligible man in town."

"Oh I remember," Ella muttered darkly.

Erik glared at her while the Pink Ranger stopped and gave him a helpless look. He leaned over and hissed quietly in her ear, "Ella? What is going on? What the hell kinda situation are you dragging me into here?"

"Umm… it's complicated," she whispered back, "Erik, can you please just trust me and play along for now? I promise I'll owe you big time for this."

Erik sighed and gave Ella's relatives a polite smile while putting a hand over hers on the table, "Well no need to worry. We just wanted to uh… do things right and try to um… make the announcement in person. Whoops."

Ella mouthed a silent "Thank you" to him before Federico, one of Ella's older cousins raised a wine glass with a smile, "Well, we're all still glad Ella's found a nice guy. She looks really happy but you've gotta understand something too…"

"Oh? What's that?"

Federico glanced over to another one of his brothers and then cast a sudden pointed glare toward the Blue Ranger, "To us Italians, family is important. You mess with one of us, then you mess with all of us."

"Uh… noted," Erik replied hesitantly.

"No no. I don't think you understand _amici_ (friend)," Federico said with the severity of a mafia hitman, "If you break Ella's heart and hurt her, we'll have to hurt you too."

"What?"

"We're gonna killa ya E," one of the other cousins answered before all the men at the table broke out into fits of laughter.

"Oh man. Did you see the look on his face just now?" Federico cackled, "He thought we were really gonna kill him. You're a good guy Dobermann. I like you."

Ella huffed and kicked her cousin under the table, "Very funny Rico! Too bad you're not actually smart enough to be a Mafioso!"

Mrs. Castaldo wiped her eyes and settled from her laughing, "Come on now kids, don't fight. Rico, don't tease our guest. Now, would anyone like some gelato for dessert?"

Erik nodded and glanced over toward Mr. Castaldo who made the pistol gesture with his hand before laughing again. He felt Ella give his hand a squeeze and he rolled his eyes thinking this stay in Rome was suddenly going to be more interesting than he originally bargained for.

* * *

Over at the central stadium, Bharata and Erin sat together in the stands watching the track and field events going. As they watched a few of the prelims for the sprinting races, Bharata glanced over and caught Erin eying the small datapad that she had brought. He raised an eyebrow and nudged her shoulder, "Erin, what are you doing? I thought you wanted to watch the events. Why are you doing work?"

"I am watching the events," she insisted looking up in time to see the next 400 meter prelim race go on, "I figured I'd do a few little calculations in between the heats."

"Oh brother. What are you scheming this time?" the Green Ranger sighed.

"Do you know how people make a ton of money betting on horse racing or sports matches? I was trying to think of a way to legally gamble and predict winners for a bunch of events."

Bharata shook his head, "Oh geez. I hope you're not actually serious about that. What would you even do with the money you won... assuming you even won?"

The Yellow Ranger put a friendly arm around her comrades shoulders and gave a smile, "Just think about it Bara. With all that money, we could take a few side trips here in Italy. Maybe Ella and I could hit the trendiest boutique fashion shops in Milan. You and the guys could go to the ritziest casinos in Monte Carlo and do the whole James Bond thing."

"Hmm... you may be on to something there," Bharata said thoughtfully while scratching his chin, "But orders are orders. Martin and Erik told us to keep an eye out for trouble remember?"

While the track races took a brief pause, the two Rangers stopped when they overheard a couple Australian spectators talking about a rumor of some strange recent alligator attacks in the city's sewers."

"I guess we spoke too soon. A lead on trouble might have just found us," Erin said while putting away her datapad, "Come on Bara. Looks like we've got work to do."

* * *

Meanwhile, bright sunlight lit up the parks as Martin and Christina sat under the shade of an olive tree at a rustic outdoor bistro. As they sat eating some panini sandwiches and drinking iced tea, they admired the view and enjoyed the peaceful afternoon.

"So... Lasky, that's an Eastern European name?" Martin prompted during the meal.

Christina nodded, "Hungarian on my Dad's side and Israeli on my Mom's side. You?"

"Anglo on my father's side and a little bit of Spanish on my mother's," he replied raising his glass, "Here's to us crazy hybrids. God bless America."

She clinked glasses in agreement before giving a curious look the Red Ranger across the table when a short companionable silence set in, "Martin? Is everything okay? You've seemed kinda tense since we sat down."

"Oh, sorry Christina…"

"Please, just call me Chrissy," she laughed while waving it off, "No need to be so formal."

He nodded and corrected himself, "Chrissy. Right... I'm sorry. If I can be totally honest with you, this is all just a little unusual for me."

"What? Going to Rome? Seeing the Olympics? Or going on a date?"

Martin laughed, "All of the above I guess… maybe a little more emphasis on the last part? I mean, for one thing, don't you girls tend to go out with pro athletes or movie stars or something?"

"We do… but not all of us," she said with a playful smile while drinking some iced tea, "Some of us are different and like taking chances on Power Rangers too. Lucky me. I picked the American one."

Martin met her playful smirk with one of his own, "Oh really? And here I just thought you were treating me out to say thank you."

"I am. But if I can be a little honest too, I thought you were kinda cute and my younger teammates were encouraging me to do this as well. They can be a real handful, and kind of a headache... but in a good way."

Martin nodded, "I know the feeling. The way my own team can be sometimes, I'm surprised I haven't started getting any gray hairs yet."

Chrissy laughed, "Well, if twenty seven is old for a Power Ranger, then I'm just as bad. Compared to most gymnasts competing here, I'm a geezer at twenty four."

"Ella actually mentioned that to me the other day," Martin said giving a curious look, "If you don't mind my asking… what's keeping you in the game? Ella said you've already won a ton of competitions and medaled several times in past games."

Chrissy stopped and looked away wistfully, "Oh… well, you probably wouldn't be interested. You'll just think I'm being kinda stupid."

"No, it's okay. You can tell me," he said gently while putting down the remains of his sandwich.

Chrissy looked back to him and shrugged, "I want to win a gold medal in this year's All Around competition. It's something I've never quite been able to do and I think this might be my last shot at it."

"I'm not exactly sure I understand. Is there a special significance to winning that particular event?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I don't know. I guess in a way, it proves that you're really 'The Best' and since I started my career in sports, lots of people and sports commentators believed that I could do that... that I could achieve that goal on top of all the others. Unfortunately, it never quite panned out in the All Around. Over time I've had to listen to a whole lot of negativity and doubt from others. Even now, I'm under a bit of scrutiny and criticism from the sports media… but I'd love to prove them wrong and do this for myself."

"Well I think it's a great idea and I wish you luck," he replied with a supportive nod, "If it makes you feel any better, we Rangers know a thing or two about fighting against stacked odds too."

"Thanks," she said with a grateful smile, "But I guess I shouldn't be complaining. After all, I don't have to go back to fighting a war when these Olympics are over. It must be kinda difficult and lonely to deal with all that sometimes, huh?"

"Yeah, but you find ways to learn to live with it," Martin said absently, "There's still my teammates, General Caldwell who's kinda been like a father figure to me... and Lucy..."

He stopped himself as Chrissy looked down at his wrist morpher and tapped it with her finger, "Oh right. You mentioned that Dr. Beckett girl to me a few times on the way here. Did she really design and build those Nova Morpher things for you guys."

"She did."

"Wow. That's incredible," Chrissy said while admiring the Nova Morpher, "She must be brilliant. Sounds like you'd really be lost without her."

"Yeah... I guess you could say that," he said quietly brushing off a few nagging thoughts from his mind.

"So... the name of your squad... I'm guessing Lucy came up with Nova too? Does it have to do with outer space or something?"

"Kinda," he answered, "These devices were engineered from the technology of an alien race far beyond the stars. She thought it would be a fitting tribute as well as the other meaning of the word. Nova means new and it referred to the light of distant stars that become brighter in the sky."

Chrissy nodded thoughtfully before taking one more sip of her tea, "You mentioned the aliens. The Xenos... have you given any thought about what you would do if the war with the aliens ended tomorrow?"

Martin stopped and frowned to himself, "Well… no. I guess not. I've been training and fighting for so many years, it's never really crossed my mind about what might happen afterwards."

Chrissy reached over and put a sympathetic hand over his, "Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be too serious or get you feeling down just now."

"No… it's okay. You're actually kinda right," he admitted, "The future is something I should still think about too."

She smiled again and squeezed his hand, "All right. In the mean time, how do feel about having some cannoli for dessert?"

"No!" the Red Ranger replied quickly, "I mean... no thank you."

Chrissy raised an eyebrow as he gave an apologetic look, "Sorry... I had a bad experience with cannoli several months ago. I guess you could say it was a near death experience of my own."

Chrissy giggled at his echoing of her words and then shrugged, "Okay. We'll pass on dessert. Would you want to stay out a little longer and enjoy the day? Maybe a walk in the park? My All Around competition is still in a few days and I don't have to get back for some practice until this evening."

"It is a nice day," Martin agreed while leaving some money on the table, "Sure, as long as we stay in the shade. I'm personally not a huge fan of hot weather."

"Oh, tell me about it," Chrissy agreed while taking his arm, "I'm from Minneapolis so any kind of heat makes me feel kinda gross too."

"Really? You're a Minnesota girl?" Martin laughed, "We're basically neighbors then. I'm from Chicago."

"Ah yes," Chrissy said with a wink, "The land of deep dish pizza, blues music, and mediocre football. Go Vikings!"

Martin sighed and rolled his eyes patiently, "Right now I'm beginning to wonder if there's going to be a second date here."

She patted his arm as they crossed the street and continued to walk together, "Oh, it could always be worse. I could be one of those cheesehead Packer fans from Wisconsin."

"You're right. That would be a disaster," he said before the two broke out into laughter and continued on their stroll unaware of the dangerous threat of the Xeno Machina agents still lurking in the underground catacombs of the city beneath them.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Apologies to all my friends and readers from Wisconsin. Those jabs were all in good fun. I'll freely admit that Wisconsin is in fact a nice state and while I still hate the Packers, I really do enjoy the cheese and beer that comes from there too. Thank you guys. ;)**


	25. Mambo Italiano

**Mission 11: Part 3  
**

Erin Reilly gave a small yawn and ran a hand though her wet chestnut brown hair while riding the hotel elevator down to the first floor. After having showered, she had thrown on a casual yellow t-shirt and some jean shorts before heading down to breakfast in the hotel dining room. As she wove around a couple tourists and tall flower vases, she found the Red Ranger sitting at a table. He was wearing his dress uniform while drinking coffee and working on a datapad. Upon nearing the table, she found Martin absently singing to himself before she took a seat next to him. "Morning Captain. You look like you're in a good mood."

He glanced up and greeted her with a small smile, "Hey Erin. What makes you say that?"

"Well for starters, you're smiling... and that worries me," she laughed in amusement, "Plus you were singing to yourself just now. Something about a Mambo Italiano?"

He took a sheepish sip of coffee and set down his datapad, "Okay… maybe I was. Just a little music while I work on this report to Caldwell. It's about our buddy Croc Bot."

Erin poured herself some coffee from a pitcher on the table, "You think those reports that Bara and I gathered the other day are worth checking out? That the Xeno might be using the city sewer systems to sneak around and terrorize people?"

"I do think you're on to something there," Martin nodded as he handed her his report, "That's why I'm reorganizing our evening patrol routes and putting the local security forces on alert."

The Yellow Ranger nodded as their other friends sat down to join them at the breakfast table. Bharata gave a grin as he took a seat beside Erik. "Hey big guy. Glad to see you made it back from the restaurant. How was your meal?"

"Oh, the food was actually very good," the Blue Ranger answered, "To be perfectly honest, I was more intimidated from meeting Ella's family."

"I'm so sorry about all that Erik," Ella said apologetically from across the table, "I know they can come off as a bit nutty, but they're nice people and they really do mean well."

Erin nudged her female teammate in the arm, "Oh? What's wrong? What happened?"

Erik cleared his throat, "Well, thanks to Ella's little stunt at the press conference yesterday I'm now having to pose as her boyfriend. After I go to visit the German basketball team today at their game, I agreed to go with Ella and visit her grandma... the undisputed matriarch of the family."

At that, the other Rangers at the table all began laughing and choking on their breakfast. When the merriment died down, Martin stifled his chuckles, "Why not just fess up and tell the truth?"

The Pink Ranger shook her head, "No. Trust me. It's easier to do it this way and get my Nonna off my back. My family is kinda old-school Italian and having your personal life meddled in kinda comes with the territory."

"Speaking of… Martin, how was your little date with Miss America yesterday?" Erin smirked while elbowing him gently, "You're already looking pretty spiffy this morning."

The Red Ranger stood up and breezily put on the jacket of his dress uniform, "Christina's a very nice girl and we had a very pleasant time too. Okay?"

The others all continued to look at him expectantly until he continued with a sigh, "Aaand after I go cheer on the American swim teams today, I might have agreed to meet Chrissy again for dinner tonight. Apparently her teammates all want to meet me now too."

"Chrissy? Now we've moved on to nicknames?" Ella teased gently.

"Bye Catalano," Martin retorted with a wink as he walked off from the table leaving the other Rangers to their own plans. As they finished their own meals, Erin held the small datapad that Martin had left her.

"So... the captain left us our modified assignments here but I'm not in any rush to go out on patrol either."

Bharata stood up and glanced at his watch before pulling her up from her seat by the arm, "Then let's get to work after the Judo competition. It should be starting soon at the stadium campus."

"Well... a deal is a deal," Erin admitted before waving goodbye to the others, "Catch you two lovebirds later."

Ella stuck her tongue out before Erik stood up at the table, "I should probably get going to the basketball game too. You wanna come?"

"I suppose I have no choice," the Pink Ranger sighed, "I did put myself in this situation, didn't I?"

"Ah, come on! You'll have fun at the game. I promise," Erik said kindly offering his arm.

Ella reluctantly too his arm and walked out of the dining room with him, "This doesn't mean anything so don't get any funny ideas Dobermann."

"Of course not dear... I wouldn't dream of it," he chuckled before getting another mild slap in the arm.

* * *

Late that afternoon, Ella headed out toward the houses around the Coliseum with Erik in tow to visit her grandmother. It was already late afternoon and early evening had begun to set in bathing Rome in a gentle orange summer light. Once they reached the piazza near her home, they found that a neighborhood block party was already going on. Music was playing from some radios nearby while the smell of seafood and pasta dishes filled the air. Several of Ella's Castaldo relatives were already present and the young children of her female cousins ran about playing tag with each other.

Erik smiled as he passed by and watched the children play, thinking of his own little daughter back in Munich. After meeting and greeting a few of Ella's other relatives and their neighbors on the block, they finally came upon an elderly woman sitting at a table chatting with a few other people. As the neighbors moved on, Ella cleared her throat and came over to kiss her grandmother on the cheek, " _Come stai Nonna_?" (How are you Grandma?)

The older woman put her hands on her granddaughter's cheeks, "Carmella! Welcome home dear. I heard you were in town for the Olympics. Isn't it exciting?"

"It is, though I'm still here on business for about a week. I wanted to say hello and to introduce you to my umm… boyfriend. Nonna, this is Erik Dobermann."

"Pleased to meet you Mrs. Catalano," he said politely shaking her hand.

The elderly lady shook his hand and eyed him for a moment longer, "Dobermann? Like the name of the dog?"

"Yes ma'am," Erik replied gently, "Believe me, I've heard every joke in the book while growing up with it."

"Oh my… you're so tall. You aren't Italian by chance, are you?"

Erik shook his head, "No ma'am. I'm from Germany… Munich."

Mrs. Catalano nodded as if trying to comprehend for a moment before Ella cut in, "He's also a Ranger, just like me. Before that, he was a medic with the German Air Force so he's good about keeping us safe and healthy."

At that moment, Erik's personal cell phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket. "Oh… sorry. Excuse me for a moment."

He turned to Ella, "It's Sarah. I've got to take this."

As he walked off speaking in German over the phone, Mrs. Catalano turned to Ella, "Who is Sarah?"

"Oh, that's his daughter. She's probably around five and she's so cute!" the Pink Ranger said before she stopped and mentally kicked herself. Her grandmother's eyes went wide,

"Carmella… he has a daughter? You're dating a man who already has a child out of wedlock? What if he gets you pregnant too? You don't have any children we don't know about, do you?"

"No Nonna! It's not like that!" Ella said in exasperation while trying to calm the situation. "Erik is a great guy and he's a good father who loves his daughter too."

Her grandmother kept going, "What has the military done to you Carmella? What if you two get married? You'll be dealing with another woman's child… and you'll have a funny last name too! Why don't you just leave the service and find a nice proper Italian boy instead?"

"I can't do that Nonna," Ella said stubbornly, "I have a lot of people counting on me... and you really shouldn't be so hard on Erik either."

The Blue Ranger walked back over and put his phone away, "Hey, sorry about that. Sarah has been sick with an ear infection and just wanted to talk for a few minutes."

Ella was too embroiled in her own rant, "And another thing Nonna, all of you raised me to be a good judge of character so you can be sure that Erik is a good man, even if he is a little different."

To his surprise, the Pink Ranger reached over and planted a quick firm kiss on his lips before storming off across the piazza. Erik blinked in shock before turning to a shocked glare of Mrs. Catalano, "Umm… I'm going to go make sure she's okay. It was nice meeting you ma'am."

The Blue Ranger beat a hasty retreat and hurried off to find Ella at the other end of the block sitting glumly on a bench. She seemed both angry and upset so he approached carefully, "Ella? Is everything okay? I walk away for a few minutes and then… well, I don't know what just happened."

Ella sighed and scooted over letting him sit down beside her, "I'm sorry about all this Erik. I wanted to make a point to my Nonna because she said some pretty unfair things toward you... just because you were, well… different. You're my friend and it upset me to hear those things being said without knowing what a good guy you are."

She paused a moment before continuing to talk, "I think a lot of my family believes I'm kinda crazy for joining the military and becoming a Ranger. To them that's just not what good respectable Italian girls should do. We should just get married and be traditional housewives… stay home, cook, and have children. That was never me. I wanted to tinker with computers and jump out of planes, and see the world… you know?"

"As a matter of fact I do," Erik smiled gently, "I jump out of those same planes and go on adventures with you too, remember?"

Ella laughed lightly before Erik scratched his chin, "For what it's worth, I appreciate your sticking up for me. I'm glad you joined the service and that you're a good friend to me too. Thank you."

He patted her hand and pulled her to her feet as some slower Italian folk music started to play and other guests at the block party began to join in a swaying dance, "Come on. We might as well enjoy the rest of the evening and keep up appearances, right?"

Ella nodded and joined him in the slow dance. As they swayed, she gave a thoughtful look to her friend, "Erik? I was just curious about Sarah's mother. You never really talk about her. You don't have to tell me if it upsets you, but…"

He shook his head, "No. It's okay… really. To be honest, I don't really know where Sarah's mom is now. I had met Ana when I was on medical leave with a torn ACL. I had been injured in a training exercise and I met her during my recovery."

"Was it a serious relationship?"

Erik shook his head, "Nah. Kinda fast and wild actually. We were both young and stupid and when Sarah was born, I guess Ana realized she wasn't ready for that kind of change in her life."

Ella gave him a little hug and looked up again, "Erik, that's awful. And she just left you with the baby?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't all bad. Sarah is still the best thing that ever happened to me so in that sense, I'm grateful to Ana and in a weird way, I still kinda love her for that."

Ella nodded and rested her cheek on Erik's shoulder, "Yup. My Nonna really was wrong about you."

Unfortunately, the warm fuzzy moment was cut short as their morphers chimed. The two friends let go of each other and glanced to their wrists urgently. Erik grimaced, "Looks like it's our turn to go on patrol. Shall we cut out of the party early?"

Ella began to hurry off toward a side street while waving her comrade on, "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Amid the lights of the city, Bharata and Erin finished their own patrol in the city's west district and stopped to play some _bocce_ ball at a local outdoor entertainment venue. Many tourists were out and about while a few other visiting Olympic athletes milled about the recreational grounds that had been set up for drinking, games, and food.

As Bharata took his turn and tossed a ball into the sandy pit, Erin gave a content smile and admired the lights from the other side of the district. Just over the river she could see the lights of the Vatican and Castel Sant'Angelo. "Beautiful isn't it Bara?"

The Green Ranger dusted off his hands and handed her a yellow _bocce_ ball, "I know. I did make a good play just now, didn't I?"

Erin gave him a friendly elbow and hefted the ball, "Actually I was referring to _Il Vaticano_ across the way."

As the Yellow Ranger made her play, Bharata looked over across the river, "You wanna go visit there later in the week or something?"

Erin gave a nod and reached for a pair of drinks they had set aside at an adjacent table, "Of course! What self respecting Irish Catholic would dare pass on a chance to see the Vatican and visit the pope himself?"

Bharata took a sip of his drink and snorted in amusement, "Maybe he'd be able to say a few prayers and help us find that Croc Bot who's still on the loose."

No sooner had he said that was when the two Rangers heard several people cry out in terror while warning shots from Xeno blaster weapons were fired into the air. The two Rangers glanced to each other and moved toward the danger but not before Erin stopped a moment to glance skyward and make a hasty sign of the cross, "I never doubted you Lord... uh, thanks."

As the crowd began to clear out, the two spotted a pack of Eidolon soldiers marching down the street firing their weapons at buildings while kicking over tables and smashing open windows of the nearby shops. At the rear of the formation was the infamous Croc Bot who stomped down the pavement and stopped to crush a vespa scooter in half with his freakishly large and powerful jaws.

Bharata reached for his morpher and radioed an emergency, "Atlantis Base, we've got trouble here on my nav beacon... Xeno commander and a platoon of Xeno infantry."

"We hear you Lieutenant," Lucy's voice answered, "Stand by. Help is on the way."

The Green and Yellow Rangers immediately morphed and pulled out their weapons to confront the alien foes. As Croc Bot took a bite out of a streetlamp and caused it to crush a row of parked cars, Erin leveled her Nova blaster and pulled the trigger, "Hey Jaws! You wanna dine _al fresco_? Why don't you come and try this next course: red hot las bolts!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Martin and Christina took a short evening walk just outside the main campus of the Olympic Village to sit on a park bench eating small cups of gelato and admiring the lights of a nearby street festival. While they sat listening to some local music drifting through the evening air, Martin gave a content sigh and ate a spoonful of the nice cool dessert. "Well Chrissy, I have to admit... this has been nice. I've had a great time hanging out with you tonight, and I've really been enjoying your company."

She gave him a faint smile and shrugged slightly while poking at her dessert, "Hmm? Oh... yeah, me too."

The Red Ranger stopped and looked to her curiously, "Hey... is everything okay? You've been acting kinda quiet since we got back and met with your teammates earlier."

"It's nothing. Forget it," she said trying to wave it off and offer him some of her gelato.

"Is this about your upcoming competition?" he asked while gently stopping her, "Or maybe is it nerves?"

She slumped on the bench and sighed, "I don't know...maybe... kinda... it's hard to explain."

"Is it me?"

Chrissy shook her head and reached into her pocket. She pulled out her phone and brought up an online news feed then showed it to him, "One of my teammates showed this to me earlier while we were visiting the dormitory."

Martin eyed the news articles, some of them sports editorials and others paparazzi-type tabloids. "Lasky's eyes on the prize and it's not a medal? Olympic Gold in Ranger Danger?"

As he skimmed the articles and photos, he saw that their little "date" from the other day had not gone unnoticed by some people in the media. Some sports pundits had begun making some comments about Christina's ability to deliver on a gold, or if she was still physically competitive, or if her priorities were suddenly mixed up. Understandably, everything written was a little embarrassing and distracting.

"This is awful," he frowned before handing her phone back, "I'm so sorry about all this. I can't help but feel that I might be kinda responsible."

She shook her head, "No. You shouldn't have to apologize. I was the one who put myself out there and got myself into this. I just... this kind of distraction from those vultures is not something I need right now. I just wanted to try and have a little fun here in Rome. It may very well be my last chance to put all the training time and public BS aside for a day or two and just... live, you know?"

Martin sat silently and nodded in understanding. Having spent years training and fighting the Xenos, dealing with hardship, death, and loneliness, this little trip to Rome had been a nice opportunity to "live" too... to just stop and smell the roses. He reached out and put a comforting hand over Christina's.

"It's okay. You shouldn't have to apologize either. I kinda know how you feel because I've been enjoying this little break from reality too. I'm glad you took a chance and put yourself out there... to remind me that it's okay to have some fun too, so thank you for that."

She looked to him in surprise, "Really? You mean that?"

He nodded, "I do. It was very brave of you to approach me, and to come and compete here in Rome one last time too. I'm sure those know-nothing blowhards in the media don't know the real strength and determination you've already shown me. Who cares what everyone else thinks? You've come this far, so you might as well finish strong and show them for real, right?"

Chrissy's lip quivered before she broke out into a grateful smile, "I... thank you Martin. That was really sweet of you and also kinda inspiring."

"Well... it's what we Rangers do. We serve, protect... and inspire Olympian athletes on the side."

She giggled and nudged him with her elbow causing him to laugh again, "I'm serious! When you're a Red Ranger, motivating your team is kind of a required job skill. It's all there in the manual."

"And what about getting the girl?" she asked while tilting her head and leaning in close to him, "Is there anything in the manual about that too?"

Martin smiled and touched her cheek while leaning over to kiss her. He stopped just short as his morpher went off and he heard Lucy's voice over the comm. "Captain Sterling? Are you there? There's been an incident. Please respond."

"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered under his breath as he slowly drew back and gave Christina an apologetic look, "I'm sorry. I've gotta take this one."

"You have your duty, and I have mine," she smiled giving his hand a squeeze before letting go again.

The Ranger rose to his feet and opened a channel back to Atlantis Base, "I'm here Lucy. What's happened?"

"Bharata and Erin have tracked down that Xeno crocodile. They almost cornered it, but it got away. Right now, they and a handful of security troops are skirmishing with Xeno foot soldiers who are dug into defensive positions of the western districts."

"Understood. What about Erik and Ella?"

"I just contacted them. They're en route," Lucy answered, "And Martin... if you're going into battle again, please... be careful?"

He grimaced to himself and clenched his fist before taking off running down the street toward the battle, "Hang on Roma. Nova Squadron is on the way!"


	26. Faster, Higher, Stronger

**Mission 11: Part 4  
**

Bharata Timothy sat down on a stone bench and wiped away some sweat as the Nova Rangers combed the ruins of the old Roman Forum. It had been two days since the Xeno assault near Vatican City and since then, the Nova Ranger had launched an aggressive counterattack to flush a cell of the aliens out of Rome. Although the monstrous Croc Bot had been driven off, the remaining Eidolon foot soldiers had been wiped out along with the help of some local UNAF allies.

Despite the recent successes, the Rangers' one remaining goal was to track down the elusive hybrid monster and they were getting close. Unfortunately, they were all tired and the oppressive heat of the summer sun above wasn't helping matters. Ella sat down beside Bharata and folded up her hand scanner while calling out to the others, "Looks like the place is clear. I'm not reading any more traces of alien bio signs."

Erik nodded as he helped Erin climb down from a rocky vantage point, "Same here. Maybe when we check in with the base later, we can have Lucy do a few more scans of the city too."

The Yellow Ranger nodded in agreement as she took a drink of water from a water bottle and handed it to Erik. She glanced over to Martin who was finishing up a scan of his own sector, "Captain? What do you say we call off the search for now and regroup back at the hotel? After these past two days, I think we could all really use a break."

The Red Ranger gave a reluctant nod and walked over to join his team, "All right, but I just hate to give up this search especially when we're getting so close."

"The noose must be getting pretty tight," Bharata noted, "We've already got UN patrols covering most of the tunnels and thoroughfares in the city. That thing's gotta be tired of running by now."

"Well... unlike the rest of us, those Xeno monsters don't really need any food or sleep. Right now a cold shower, a big lunch, and a long nap is sounding pretty good."

Martin checked the time on his morpher and glanced back to Erik, "All right. You guys rest up for now. We'll continue our hunt later tonight if need be."

"You're not coming with us?" Ella asked in confusion.

"I'll shower up and grab a quick meal," Martin replied leading the way out of the Roman ruins, "I've got something important to take care of."

As the other Rangers got up from their resting spots, they exchanged a puzzled shrug before making their way from the Forum grounds and leaving the ruins in peace again.

* * *

Sometime later that afternoon, Ella Catalano relaxed in the comfort of the hotel room she was sharing with Erin for the trip. She dozed peacefully enjoying the comfort of the soft feather bed and the cool refreshing feel of air conditioning until she felt a hand gently nudge her awake. The Pink Ranger opened her bleary eyes from her nap and gave a yawn at the sight of Erin at her bedside.

The Yellow Ranger stepped back and tiredly flopped back down on her own bed, "Hey Ella, the front desk just called, "There's someone downstairs who's here to see you."

"Did they say who it was?" Ella asked while rolling out of bed and straightening up her mussed hair.

"Nope. But if it's a bunch of our adoring fans, tell them to come back at around sixteen hundred hours," Erin yawned, "We need our beauty sleep right now."

Ella sighed and shook her head to herself as she left the room and took the elevator downstairs. When she reached the lobby of hotel, she was surprised to find her Aunt Michelina as well as her grandmother waiting for her. Ella gave a puzzled look and greeted them with a hug and kiss on the cheek, "Zia? Nonna? What are you two doing here? Is everything okay?"

Her aunt put a loving hand on her cheek and led them outside to an outdoor garden patio of the hotel, "Carmella, we came to talk to you about what happened a few days ago."

As they sat down at a patio table, Ella raised her hands apologetically, "I know... I know... before you say it, I'm sorry for getting angry and storming off Nonna. I shouldn't have lost my temper and been disrespectful."

Her grandmother shook her head and reached out to take her hand, "No dear, I should be the one apologizing to you. I had been a little insensitive too."

"Wait... what? But you said..."

Ella's grandma gave her hand a squeeze, "I had been speaking to Michelina about this and she told me how she thought Erik was a wonderful and polite young man when she sat down and ate with him. I suppose it wasn't good that I jumped to any conclusions about him without taking any time to really speak with him and understand his situation."

Ella blinked in surprise, "Nonna... thank you, but I don't understand..."

Her Aunt Michelina smiled gently, "When we heard on the news about another alien attack nearby, we started to worry about you. We were scared you'd get hurt or that we wouldn't get another chance to make things right with you if you were still angry. These last few days you've just been so busy and we haven't gotten a chance to sort this out either. We wanted to do this while you were still here."

The Pink Ranger shook her head and gave them both a hug, "Zia. Nonna. We're family. As mad or emotional as I might get, I'll still love all of you guys... whatever happens. I hope you know that, right?"

Her Nonna smiled, "Of course dear. Even if you're in the military, you know we still can't help but worry... or want what's best for you."

"I know Nonna. Thank you," Ella said as she stood up, "Now why don't we go get some lemonade and biscotti and enjoy the rest of the afternoon, hm?"

Before anyone else could reply, Ella's wrist morpher sounded a warning chime. She looked up and saw her fellow Rangers assembling again in the hotel lobby while shaking off their own weariness. She turned to her relatives with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry guys. Duty calls."

"Go," her grandmother smiled while giving a small wave, "Make us prouder Carmella."

The Pink Ranger returned the smile and headed into the lobby to rejoin her teammates and head off into battle, armed with the love and support of her own family behind her once more.

* * *

Meanwhile, across the city at the central gymnasium, Christina Lasky took off her sweats and began stretching out before her competition in the Womens All Around event. A fair crowd had turned out and there was a sort of electricity in the air, whether it was from the competitive lineup today or her nerves, she couldn't be quite certain. She still had about half an hour before the competition started but she'd use every moment to get loose and focus on her last shot at an individual gold in the event.

Amid the murmurs and bustle of the crowds and other teams present on the floor, she stopped and turned when she heard her name called out from behind. To her surprise, she saw the Red Nova Ranger approach with a tired but serene smile. In an unusual sight, he had dressed down to civilian clothes wearing a sporty red polo shirt with a USA team logo to show his support.

"Martin? I... what are you doing here?" Christina asked in shock while greeting him with a hug.

"What else? I came to cheer you on today," he chuckled as he let go of her and held up his special ID badge granted by the IOC, "You know, it's amazing how far this thing can get you through security lines."

Christina shook her head and laughed quietly, "I thought you and your team were busy hunting down that alien these last couple days."

"We were, but I think I'd be a pretty crummy friend if I didn't come here to show some support. After all, this is your big moment."

"Thank you... I don't know what to say," she said.

"You don't have to say anything Chrissy. Just go out there and give it your all. Your team believes in you... and so do I."

They exchanged a smile before Martin stopped and made another observation, "You're wearing a red uniform with a matching ribbon in your hair?"

"What can I say?" she shrugged playfully, "The color's kinda grown on me recently."

He grinned and stepped back, gesturing toward the main floor of the gym again, "You should get going. Your team needs its captain now."

Christina gave a wave and headed back to the floor while Martin nodded and made his way up to the stands to watch the events. It was at a time like this, he wished Ella was here with him to explain the finer points of judging the events. For now, he would just have to place some faith in the power of fortune and the officiating judges too.

An hour passed and the competition eventually got underway. As he sat in the stands watching a rotation or two, the Red Ranger tried listening to the chatter around him to gauge who was doing well and how the event was progressing. While he continued to watch the other gymnasts compete, he spotted Christina waiting in line to perform her routine on the uneven bars. It was at that moment, he heard his wrist morpher go off and he turned away to speak quietly into it, "I'm here. What's going on?"

"The Xeno is back," came Lucy's reply on the other end of the radio, "It looks like it just crawled up from the waterways and is headed toward the central stadium downtown."

Martin grimaced as he glanced toward the gymnasium floor and then back to his wrist, "Are you really sure it's the Croc Bot? It's not a false alarm?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Lucy insisted with a hint of impatience in her voice, "And where are you Martin? Your nav beacon isn't with the rest of your team."

"I'm... doing some PR work," he said evasively.

"Well the Xeno is getting closer and I've alerted the rest of Nova Squad. You have to get going now."

The Red Ranger scowled and nodded, "Understood. I'm on my way."

He rose from his seat and took one more look out toward Christina as she stepped up and took her place on the floor to begin her routine. He gave a wistful shake of the head and began to hurry away from the gymnasium, "Fly high Chrissy. I hope you can forgive me."

* * *

On the streets of downtown Rome, a hail of laser rifle fire rang out from a squad of UNAF troopers as they desperately tried to slow the advance of the Xeno hybrid Croc Bot. Despite the soldiers' best efforts, their weapons did little to get through the alien's tough armor as it neared the central Olympic Stadium where the great torch continued to burn.

"Stand your ground men! We can't let that thing get into the stadium!" the sergeant of the squad shouted as he tried to keep the spirits of his troops up, "We have to protect the civilians and the torch inside!"

The soldiers exchanged a hesitant look between each other before Croc Bot reared its tail up and smashed the pavement in front of him with a powerful blow. The shockwave sent a line of rocks and concrete spraying everywhere as the sidewalk split apart and the soldiers dove clear of the attack. The crocodilian Xeno gave a triumphant roar and began to plod forward until it stopped at the sight of five new defenders rushing onto the scene from the sidestreets. In a flash, they converged together and barred the monster's path toward the stadium.

The shaken UN soldiers looked up and saw the five young Nova Rangers approach slowly and confront the monster with calm determined poise. As they passed the scattered soldiers, Erik turned his head and gave a small reassuring look to the sergeant, "Thanks for holding the line sergeant, but we'll take it from here. Have your men fall back and guard the doors."

The sergeant nodded in relief and gave a wave, "Yes sir! You heard the man troopers! Fall in and cover the doors!"

As the soldiers withdrew to safety, Martin stepped forward with a stern glare at the alien and raised his morpher, "This ends today Xeno! We're not going to let you harm any more people in this city! Rangers?"

The others raised their morphers and the five called forth their powers in unison, " _Energize_!"

Croc Bot stopped for a moment as he watched the five young people disappear in a brilliant flash of light before emerging in their battle suits. They drew their blaster pistols and vibroblades while getting into position for one last decisive battle. Erin was the first to sprint forward firing a hail of blaster bolts to distract the alien before leaping high into the air, "Let's give this thing an Olympic sized headache!"

Using the momentum of her sprinting high jump, the Yellow Ranger hurtled forward and delivered a powerful flying jump kick to the Xeno's skull as it shook off the incoming laser fire. Croc Bot staggered back several paces as she backflipped off and rolled clear while it brought its tail around for a powerful counterblow. As Erin evaded the strike, Erik sprinted in from the flank and swept in low, grabbing the monstrous alien's tail and gripping it firmly to restrain it.

The crocodilian whirled around on him and snarled, but the Blue Ranger used his great size and enhanced strength to lift Croc Bot by the tail and begin swinging him around. He kept spinning the alien for several revolutions, building momentum before letting go and hurling the Xeno as if performing a track and field hammer throw.

Croc Bot hit the pavement hard and rolled over into a stunned heap right in the path of the charging Pink Ranger. As the Xeno scrambled to its feet, it lashed out trying to strike at her but Ella threw herself into a gymnastic maneuver, cartwheeling into a high spinning vault to dodge the attack. After tumbling clear, Ella swept her Nova Striker around at full power and slashed at a vulnerable part of the Xeno's tail, severing it from it's body.

Croc Bot stumbled again, both from the pain and being thrown off balance by the loss of its tail now. Upon reeling sideways, Bharata caught the beast's arm and turned inside of it to use its own weight and momentum to his advantage. The Green Ranger gave a shout and hurled the Xeno to the ground again using a brutal judo style shoulder throw. The stunned and wounded alien again tried scrambling to its feet, but it was met by another hail of blaster fire and then thrown backwards by an overcharged shot from the Red Nova Ranger's blaster pistol.

As the other Nova Rangers regrouped around Martin, he twirled his blaster with a flourish and holstered the weapon before raising his morpher up, "Dr. Beckett? Send in the big guns!"

"Understood Captain!" Lucy responded as she punched in the transporter code from her console and teleported the Nova Rangers' Prism Cannon.

Croc Bot gave another furious snarl and slowly pulled itself to its feet, but it found itself staring down the five Rangers forming up around their heavy field gun. Each Ranger swiftly loaded a canister into the weapon and charged it up while taking aim.

"Locked and loaded!" Erik called as the crocodilian opened it's wide jaws and the Rangers targeted its exposed maw.

"Fire!" Martin shouted as he pulled the trigger and unloaded a powerful beam of white hot light into the hybrid Xeno. Croc Bot disappeared in a searing flash of light and a large fireball erupted high into the air overshadowed by the stadium's great Olympic Torch.

After the shockwaves subsided and the fires in the street died down, the UN soldiers who were present gave a cheer and ran out to congratulate the Rangers along with several other civilians who had taken cover from the streets. Not surprisingly, swarms of local police converged on the scene to block off and secure the area around the central stadium. Amid the confusing bustle of all the people gathering around, Erik spoke into his morpher, "Atlantis Base, Croc Bot has been destroyed. Mission accomplished here."

"We read you loud and clear Lieutenant. Good work out there," Lucy responded while Erin and Bharata exchanged a high five. As he was mired down by some of the local authorities and a few people from the news, Martin turned to Ella, "Looks like we're going to be stuck here for quite a while. Ella? I need you to do something for me."

Back in the R&D lab of Atlantis Base, Julian West reclined in his chair drinking an energy drink and relaxing during his breaktime until he heard his own radio comm going off. The lab tech kicked his feet down off his desk and picked up his headset, "I'm here."

"Julian? Great! I'm glad I caught you," Ella said on the other end of the line, "Is this a bad time?"

"Not at all Lieutenant. How can I help?"

Ella cleared her throat, "Well... this is going to sound like an odd request, but I need you to turn on the television and tell me if the results are in from the Womens' All Around gymnastics event."

Julian shrugged and pulled out a datapad to try and stream the news results. He flipped through the pages for several moments before he found the right event and saw a live medal ceremony going on. "Hey Ella, looks like some American won the event... Christina Lasky?"

As she looked about the chaos of police and press on the streets in Rome, Ella gave a bright laugh on the other end of the line, "Thank you Julian! I'm glad to hear it, and I think Captain Sterling will be too."

"Um... glad I could be of help," the lab tech responded as he glanced at a few more articles buried within the news updates. That was when a post or two caught his eye and he reached for his comm, "Wait Ella! Have you seen this little blurb about Miss Lasky in the gossip section? They aren't talking about the captain in here too... are they?"

"Sorry Julian, I've gotta go... uh, my hands are kinda full at the moment with the cleanup crews," Ella called as she quickly ended the transmission.

Julian could only be left scratching his head in confusion before giving a shrug and going back to his lunch break.

* * *

A couple days passed and a warm summer breeze blew through the plaza as Martin stood on a raised walkway admiring the early evening view overlooking the historic Trevi Fountain. From that vantage point, he could see the normally crowded square begin to clear out. With the Olympic Games winding down in a few more days, all those tourists and visitors would be moving elsewhere in the city's downtown to celebrate one last hurrah. Despite the recent Xeno attack during the last few days, Martin couldn't help but wish he could stay a little longer to enjoy the sun, the sights, and the relative peace that had begun to return to the city.

"Are you really sure you don't want to come with us tonight Captain?" Erin asked over the radio of her morpher. "You do know General Caldwell gave us a special three day extension and a little more latitude to use the transporter."

"I know," he said, "I promise I'll join you guys in a day or two. There's something I still need to take care of here."

"You'll be missing out tonight sir," Erin laughed gently, "Ella and I are going to Milan to buy some nice dresses and shoes before we join the guys in Monaco. They liked the idea of hitting the casinos and they wanted two beautiful ladies on their arms to give them good luck."

Martin chuckled, "I'll make it there for a beach day with you guys, but until then, I'll wire you some money Erin. Knowing how good you are with the cards, I figure you can make me a little profit too."

"Give me a ten percent cut and you've got yourself a deal."

"Good night Lieutenant," Martin sighed with a smile as he ended the radio call with Erin.

As he stood quietly for a minute enjoying the peaceful fading sunlight, he heard a voice from behind and turned to see a familiar girl approach. "There you are. I got your message."

Martin gave a soft smile and nodded as Christina walked over to join him at the railing. "Hey. I wasn't sure you'd be able to get away from the crowds to make it here."

Christina brushed aside a strand of her long brown hair and smiled warmly, "Well, I guess I just wanted to see you before you left so that I could thank you… for everything. I wanted to thank you for protecting me and for believing in me when I was down. I like to think that it helped me win."

Martin returned her smile and looked back toward the lit up waters of the great fountain, "Chrissy… I'm so sorry I missed the rest of your competition and your medal ceremony too. I really wish I could have been there, but I'm still very happy for you. You reached your dream."

Christina laughed softly and touched his arm, "It's okay Martin. You had a job to do… just like I was doing mine. Except in your case, you were actually doing something important like saving the lives of a few million people in this city."

Martin laughed, "It doesn't make yours any less important. My job is to keep people safe. Yours is to inspire others and give them hope, and I think you did an amazing job of it."

Christina blushed slightly as Martin cleared his throat, "So... this is it for you? Retiring from competitive gymnastics?"

She shrugged and nodded, "Yeah. To be honest, I'm actually looking forward to not having to train day in and day out. I was thinking of maybe becoming an instructor, and also taking up some endorsement offers. It'll be nice to have a little extra money and to just get out and live life a little, you know?"

"I'm glad for you."

Christina turned back toward him and tilted her head curiously, "So this is it for you too, huh? You're really going to be leaving soon?"

Martin sighed and took her hands, "I'll be due back in Atlantis Base in a few days. My team is going to need me."

She glanced down for a moment, "Will one more day really matter? I uh… I was actually hoping you could stay just a little longer. I was hoping maybe you could stick around long enough to come to the closing ceremonies with me?"

Martin stopped and blinked in surprise. The thought of Lucy flashed briefly in his mind and a pang of guilt tugged at his heart. Still, there was another part of him that wanted to just get away from Atlantis Base and the war just a little longer… to just be in the moment right now. To just live.

"I… well… I suppose I could try asking General Caldwell. After all, I'm sure the IOC wouldn't mind some extra security being on hand either, right?"

Christina laughed and squeezed his hand, "Great!"

Martin took one last look out toward the fountain before frowning slightly, "You know, I just realized something. If I do stick around tonight, I have nothing planned at all."

Christina gave a thoughtful look before taking his hand and leading him from the plaza, "That's okay. We'll improvise. Maybe dinner, drinks, and then find a fun dance club? See where the night goes?"

"Sounds like a plan," the Red Ranger laughed as they walked, "You know, Ella told of me of this great little place to eat near the Coliseum that her aunt owns. It's called _Buona Fortuna_ and they have the best ravioli..."

* * *

Late that night in the Command Tower of Atlantis Base, Lucy entered the operations room and found Julian sitting at her station covering the night shift. He was idly paging through a Popular Mechanics magazine and he sat up when he saw her. "All's quiet tonight Dr. Beckett. Nothing going on from the dispatches."

Lucy nodded and put on her headset while relieving him for the late night shift, "Thank you Julian. Status of the Rangers?"

The young tech scratched his chin a moment, "Umm... as far as I know, they were going to visit Northern Italy and enjoy the last couple days of their vacation. Erin mentioned they were going to Monaco. Otherwise, Captain Sterling is still in Rome tonight."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Julian shrugged, "I don't know. General Caldwell didn't really say, but gave him permission to stick around. If I had to guess, the captain probably had a date tonight."

"What?" Lucy gasped in shock. Her mind began to race and she took a deep breath to not give away any hint of panic or outrage, "What makes you say that?"

Julian reached for a datapad and pulled up a couple tabloid articles on the news feed, "I dunno. I saw this earlier and it sounded pretty crazy. Those gossip columnists will write anything to get attention, huh?"

"Yeah..." Lucy said blinking in dismay at the screen, "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Okay... well if that'll be all, then I'm going to bed. Good night Dr. Beckett."

Lucy watched him depart the room in silence before slowly reaching for her radio transmitter. She punched in a direct command to open up a private channel and she waited for a response.

Meanwhile back in Rome, the hotel room door closed as Martin and Christina returned from their late night out on the town. As they made their way inside, they shared in some laughter and fell over each other on the bed, wrapped in each others arms. As she lay back, Christina giggled and gave a coy look, "You know... the last time we were in this position, there was a vicious alien tearing the city apart."

"Well I don't see any Xenos tearing up the gardens or throwing park benches around, do you?" Martin smiled as he leaned down and kissed her. They lay there for a minute sharing a deep passionate kiss before the chime of the Nova Morpher sounded again. The Red Ranger stopped and sat up for a moment looking in exasperation at the morpher on his wrist, "Sterling here."

To his dismay he heard Lucy's voice on the other end, "Martin? It's Lucy. I... I know it's late by you, but you missed your last check in."

"Sorry... I uh, kinda lost track of time tonight."

Lucy's voice paused a moment, "I see... is now a bad time? I wanted to talk, and to ask you about something."

"If it's okay with you I'm a little tired. If it's not important, I think I'm going to call it a night. Okay?"

Lucy sighed nodded and ended the transmission, "Yeah... maybe tomorrow. Beckett out."

The Red Ranger lay on his side and felt Christina reach over and touch his check, "Ranger business? Is it something urgent?"

"I… no… it can wait," he said slowly before removing his Nova Morpher and putting it on the night stand. Even after doing that, he paused for a long moment as if trying to make sense of everything.

"Are you sure everything is okay?" Christina asked again, "I'd understand if you had to go."

Martin shook his head wistfully and tried to dismiss Lucy from his mind, "Sorry, it's nothing... really."

"You're positive?" she asked in concern before he rolled back over and drew her close again, "Martin? What are you doing?"

"You know us being together like this is a little risky right? I'm still a Ranger and that means that there's a pretty good chance that on any given mission I could get killed or horribly wounded."

He was silenced as she pulled him in and answered his question with another kiss, "If that's the case, then let's make the time we have together here count."

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **And so all our heroes ended their vacation on a high note by getting lucky that night: some at the casino, and some in other ways. Looking forward, the squad will be headed back to normal action and the start of a Sixth Ranger arc. Until then, I'll be putting this one on temporary hold to finish working on another fic. Thanks again for reading everyone!**


	27. The Invisible Men

**Mission 12: Part 1  
**

"Never fear Miss Renard! The Silver Baron is here to save you!" said the man on the screen. The five Nova Rangers sat in one of the lounge rooms of Atlantis Base watching a cheesy old black and white television serial featuring a German action hero by the name of Welkin Stross. Not only was he a gunslinging adventurer and an ace pilot, he also had a device to give him a silver super suit that looked to be made of tinfoil.

On the screen, Welkin swept the leading lady off her feet and jumped into his biplane. "You'll have to do better than that if you're going to run from justice Monsieur LeBlanc!"

As they took off, a warehouse full of black market weapons for the Soviet Union were destroyed while a smarmy effete Frenchman in a white suit shook his fist at the escaping plane. LeBlanc shouted, "Next time Stross! You won't be so lucky!"

As the Silver Baron tried to lean in and kiss the damsel in distress named Miss Renard, she hauled off and slapped Welkin across the face while the plane flew off and the credits rolled.

Erin Reilly crossed her arms as she leaned back on the couch thoughtfully, "Oh wow… I can't believe those old television shows were so hokey. To think that this fictional Welkin Stross guy might have helped to inspire the very concept of a Power Ranger?"

"Frightening, isn't it?" Ella sighed while munching on some popcorn, "You'd almost think he was some kind of over the top hero parody the way he shot off those bad one liners and blew up half the set. Thank God the love interest still slapped him in the end for being such an egotistical horndog."

"Oh I don't know… I kinda liked it," Bharata chuckled nearby, "I actually thought it was sorta funny. Lots of us guys wish we could go around the world saving beautiful women and blowing up bad guys with a bunch of cool gadgets."

"Says a guy who does that for a living," Ella teased gently as she threw some popcorn in his face, "Fair warning, if you three guys try any of the same sleazy moves to get into the pants of Erin or I, you'll get a lot more than a slap in the face."

Bharata laughed and ate a few pieces of popcorn that had fallen onto his shirt.

Erik chuckled and turned to Martin who was sitting next to him on the couch, "So Martin, what did you think of the show?"

The Red Ranger glanced up from the datapad in his hand and gave a polite smile, "Hmm? Oh, it was great. What's not to like? A gunslinger hero and a daredevil pilot? I can sorta relate."

"We almost thought you weren't paying attention," Erin pointed out, "You've been fiddling with that datapad on and off the whole time."

"So?"

"So you're not supposed to be doing any work," Ella answered as she prepared to throw popcorn at him too, "This is our team recreation time, remember?"

"I wasn't working," Martin said evasively before Erik plucked the datapad from his hand, "Hey! Give that back Dobermann!"

The Blue Ranger laughed and used his greater size and strength to ward off his commanding officer, "Let's see what all this is about. Ah… a text messaging chain?"

"I'm giving you a direct order," Martin sputtered but his threat was useless as Erik continued to read parts of it out loud.

 _"From C. Lasky. Reply to M. Sterling. I'll be counting down the hours. I miss you and can't wait to see you again on video chat later tonight too. Lots of love. XOXOXO, Pink-heart, Pink-heart, Kissy-face-emogie."_

Erik tossed the datapad back to Martin with a devilish smile while the other Rangers laughed loudly, "Wow… I can see why you were distracted."

Martin gave a huff and tried to suppress the flushed look on his face while Ella playfully tossed some popcorn at him, "Sounds like you really made an impression on Christina. You guys are still communicating regularly, huh?"

"Well, the captain did spend two extra days in Rome just for her. I'm sure they did a whole lot of sightseeing together, if you know what I mean," Erik teased while giving his friend a conspiratorial nudge.

"No. I don't," Martin answered flatly with a reproving frown, "Now let's just drop the subject please."

"You know we're still going to keep giving you hell about it sir," Erin laughed.

Martin threw up his hands and sighed in defeat, "Listen, are we going to watch the next show, or what? Erin, would you make yourself useful and get some more popcorn from the mess hall?"

"On it!" she called before hurrying out of the room.

Martin turned to the Pink Ranger, "Ella? Would you mind getting the next DVD please?"

"Sure," she said while stepping out of the lounge room, "I'll go get it in my room."

Once the girls were gone, Martin gave a satisfied nod and sat back down continuing to watch the credits of the last show. As Erik and Bharata joined him, Martin kicked up his feet and popped a stray kernel in his mouth, "Now that the girls are gone for a few minutes, if you guys are still curious about how the sightseeing in Rome was... let me just put it this way."

Without saying a word, he made a mind-blown gesture.

The Blue and Green Rangers watched as a faint smile curled at their commander's lips before the three men shared a laugh between each other and settled in to enjoy the rest of their recreation time that evening.

* * *

The next day, the young Australian engineer Julian West was busy at work in the R&D lab. He was carefully going over a piece of equipment when the doors swished open and Bharata entered the lab. The Green Ranger gave a cheerful wave as he ambled over toward the lab table, "Hey Julian! What's going on?"

The younger man glanced up a moment before setting down his probing instruments, "Oh... Bara, hello. Sorry, I was a little distracted just now."

"So it seems," Bharata said as he glanced down curiously at the device in front of him. It looked to be a large circular disc with the size and weight of a standard laptop computer. It curved up into a dome-like design and had some panels and display consoles which blinked intermittently, "Working on something interesting?"

Julian nodded, "Xeno tech. This is a component of those towers which emitted those Parallax fields that you guys encountered. One of the UNAF squads from Africa recovered this from the Serengeti Plains and donated this to us for study. It was mostly intact and looks to be one of the primary phase emitters that generate the distortion fields."

"Interesting," Bharata said as he paced around the table and continued to eye the device, "But wouldn't Dr. Beckett be taking the lead on pulling that thing apart?"

Julian shook his head, "Actually, she's letting me take this project on. She said she wanted to challenge me and give me a chance to take charge on a project, so I don't want to let her down."

"Good for you," Bharata said giving him an encouraging clap on the shoulder, "Hey, since I was passing through, I figured I'd ask if you wanted to grab some lunch now. Can't work on an empty stomach right?"

"Thanks Bara but I'll have to pass on this one," Julian shrugged, "I was actually going to do lunch with someone else and I was waiting for her to swing by."

Bharata grinned and elbowed the tech with a wink, "Ah! You lucky guy. You've got a little date? Who's it with?"

Julian picked up his instruments and began toying with the Xeno device a little more to ward off the Ranger's teasing, "Nobody you know mate... just drop it okay? It's no big deal."

"Oh come on, can't I stick around to meet the mystery woman?" Bharata laughed as he circled back around the table continuing to tease his friend.

In his distracted and flustered state, Julian poked at the circuit board of the device causing it to start beeping and blinking. "Oh... oh no."

"What's going on?" Bharata stopped as he glanced in growing dread at Julian and then the device, "Why is the device doing that?"

"Geez Bara! Look what you made me do!" Julian said in a panic as he scrambled to deactivate the device.

The Green Ranger backed off and got ready to dive for cover while giving a defensive huff, "Me? This is not my fault!"

Before the two men could argue any more, a bright flash of light was emitted and the air around them rippled for a moment before settling again. Both of them stopped and opened their eyes to examine their surroundings. Everything looked to be in order. The device was still intact and there was no explosion, damage, or bodily harm done.

"Julian... what just happened here?" Bharata asked slowly.

Before Julian could answer, the door opened up again and Erin walked in. As she approached, Julian scrambled over, "Erin! Oh my gosh! You'd better clear out for a few minutes! We had a little accident here and need to scan the place for safety!"

Erin didn't seem to hear him and walked right by. The Yellow Ranger stopped and frowned in confusion before calling out, "Julian? Are you here?"

"Erin! I'm right here!" the engineer responded as he walked up right in front of her, "Please, you have to leave the room for a few minutes."

To his horror, Erin disregarded him and continued forward seemingly passing right through him like a ghost. Erin continued to look around the lab and went to ask a few other techs in the other rooms where Julian might have gone. "What... what is going on here?"

Bharata took a few deep breaths but felt his heart begin to race as he reached out and touched the Xeno device as well as a hand scanner on the table. Both times his hands passed through the objects as if he was incorporeal. "Oh shit... this is not good at all. Julian!"

The panicked engineer hurried over and watched as Bharata demonstrated his ghost-like abilities. The Green Ranger looked around fearfully and began to pace, "I don't know what happened, but it seems everyone else can't sense us. Is it something that Xeno tech did to us?"

"It has to be," Julian speculated as he looked over the device, "If I had to guess... I must have accidentally created some kind of power flux in the emitter. If that thing hit us with a burst of the Parallax effect, it must have been altered and threw us out of phase."

"Well how are we going to stop it? How long is this going to last?" Bharata insisted.

Julian shook his head, "I... I have no idea. We're going to need the help of one of our friends here, but how are we going to do it if we're phased out?"

Bharata took several deep breaths and focused his mind. His martial arts mentor had taught him to mediate and always stay calm, even in a crisis. Besides, he was a UNAF officer and a Ranger. He had to act like one now. "Okay. Right now, we'll just have to stay calm and wait for Dr. Beckett or the rest of my team to notice we're gone. I'm sure they'll come back here to look for us and then figure it out."

Julian took minor encouragement from the Ranger before wringing his hands and giving a defeated sigh, "I guess so... it's not like we can do much else at the moment."

"All right," Bharata nodded, "Let's follow Erin for now. Hopefully she leads us to the others and we can get this sorted out."

As they began to follow her out the door of the lab, Bharata stopped and looked toward Julian, "Wait a second... you were going to go have lunch with Erin? She's the mystery girl?"

The engineer grimaced and pulled his comrade along out the door, "I just had to run my mouth around the intelligence officer. That was my first mistake. Now she's going to think I blew her off."

"Relax my friend," Bharata said while trying to stay positive, "We'll be back to solid form in no time and you can explain the whole thing to her then. Sound good?"

Julian mumbled something but didn't sound too certain. Honestly, Bharata couldn't blame him. He wasn't too certain how they were going to handle this situation just yet either.

* * *

A few hours passed and they followed Erin to the messhall. After sitting through lunch which they were not able to eat, Bharata pondered the situation as he and Julian sat in the hallway of the base's women's wing where the female personnel had their quarters. As they were gentlemen, they both stayed outside as Erin entered the womens communal bathroom in the hall. Bharata sat with his eyes closed meditating, trying to come up with a way to communicate with his friends or get a handle on the situation. In a strange way, it was fun being invisible to everyone around him. It was an intelligence officer's dream come true really. He could spy on others or listen in on their conversations, but to do so around his fellow friends and allies here seemed dishonest and wrong. He couldn't help but wonder if the tech could somehow be adapted for use on the battlefield. It would be useful to sneak by enemies, to learn their strength and positions, and maybe even exploit their weaknesses.

His thoughts were interrupted as Julian spoke, "Hey Bara, I know this seems kinda wrong of me to even suggest, but aren't you the least bit curious about trying to listen in to what the girls around here at the base talk about? I mean... who knows, maybe they say stuff about us."

"Maybe," Bharata shrugged, "Or maybe they say bad stuff too. It's really none of our business and as curious as I am, it's best we don't snoop. Wouldn't you feel the same way if your privacy was violated?"

"Yeah, I know... I'm just saying," Julian said, "You know Bara, in a way this doesn't feel all that different."

"What are you talking about?"

"Being invisible," Julian sighed to himself, "Or feeling invisible at times... to Erin, to Dr. Beckett, and as crazy as that sounds, even to you guys."

Bharata shook his head, "That's not true Julian. You shouldn't feel that way. You might not be a Ranger or the Chief Engineer on the base, but you're still a valuable part of our team. I'm sure Dr. Beckett relies on you more than you think, and when she's tied up, you've always been there to help us too. I'm sure even Erin would agree."

"You won't say anything to her... will you?" Julian asked hesitantly.

Bharata smiled kindly and shook his head, "Unless you want me to, then no."

"Thanks Bara," Julian sighed, "I'll bet if we were in hostile territory, you wouldn't be so down on being invisible."

Bharata chuckled before turning to look down the hallway, "True... unfortunately we're in very friendly territory right now."

Both men stopped and stared as Ella came down the hall with a small pink bath towel wrapped around her as she headed off to take a shower. She passed right by humming a tune to herself, completely oblivious to their presence. When she entered the bathroom, Bharata cleared his throat and tried to look dignified again, "You know Julian, a lot of intelligence guys don't have scruples when it comes to the surveillance of others. It's times like this I hate not being one of those guys."

As Erin exited the bathroom, she was completely unaware as Julian's laughter began to fill the hallway.

* * *

Sometime later in the day, Lucy Beckett walked into the base's mess hall as it began to clear out from the afternoon rush. As the young doctor got her lunch and passed a few base technicians and security troopers, she looked over toward the window seats and found the person she was looking for. Martin sat idly drinking a cup of iced tea while doing some work on a datapad, completely oblivious of her presence. She took a few deep breaths and stepped forward setting her lunch tray down on the table. "Martin? Do you mind if I join you?"

He looked up in surprise and gave an apologetic smile before nodding, "Oh hey Luce. Of course. Take a seat."

She sat down across from him and began to pick at her food. Today's menu looked to be fettuccine alfredo with green beans and orange jello on the side. She watched her friend for a minute as he absently took a sip of his drink and continued to work on a report.

"So..." she began, "It's been a few weeks since we've really been able to sit down like this, huh? Just you and me... catching up."

"Oh I know what you mean," he said as he continued to type, "A lot's been going on recently and I'm making sure the squad gets in some extra training drills after our little vacation, just so we stay sharp."

"Of course..." Lucy said twirling the noodle around with her fork, "You know, you never really told me much about how everything went on your trip. I mean, getting to tour Rome and watch the Olympics and all. Must have been exciting, right?"

"It was nice," Martin answered simply. "The city was scenic, the food was good, and I had fun watching some of the events."

Lucy nodded, "I see. How about the people? Meet anyone interesting there?"

He took a thoughtful sip of tea and shrugged, "Well... I got to meet Ella's family. They seemed really friendly."

"Hmm. I heard you might have made friends with some other people too. Someone by the name of Christina maybe?"

Martin stopped and put down his glass, "What are you implying Lucy?"

"Oh nothing," she said primly while forking her jello, "I just read some trashy tabloids that might have suggested some unbecoming things about you and her."

The Red Ranger scowled and narrowed her eyes, "And what do you think Lucy?"

"It's none of my business Martin," she said petulantly while continuing to stab her food with her fork.

"You're damn right it isn't," he said, "I don't see why you're so concerned all of a sudden."

Lucy huffed defensively and took a bite of her meal, "I'm just looking out for you as your friend here. It's my job to help keep you Rangers alive and make sure you're always focused on the mission. If we're going to beat the Xenos, we can't afford to get distracted."

"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing," Martin retorted sarcastically, "Now where have I heard that before?"

The two glared at each other across the table in silence before they were interrupted by the chime of the Nova morpher.

"Captain? It's Erin. I think we might have a little problem here."

Martin rose from the table, "I'm on my way Lieutenant. Where are you?"

"In the R&D lab with the rest of the squad, sir."

Martin and Lucy exchanged a surprised look and forgot about their quarrel. "Sit tight Erin. Dr. Beckett and I will be right there."

* * *

A short while later, Nova Squad assembled in the R&D lab while Lucy ran some scans of the surrounding rooms. Unknown to them, Bharata and Julian also stood by, relieved that things were finally coming to a head. The Rangers sat and listened while Erin paced about scratching her head, "I mean... I know it sounds kinda weird, but I can't help but feel something is off. First Julian was supposed to be here to meet me for lunch and then Bara went missing too."

"He didn't show up for his designated practice time at the pistol range," Erik confirmed. "Erin mentioned this to me and when we asked the base computers to locate the two, it said both were not here at all."

"They didn't use the transporters, did they?" Martin asked.

"No. That was our next guess," Erin replied, "The officer manning the transporter didn't see either of them all day. All I know from asking around was that Bharata was last seen heading toward the R&D lab around lunchtime."

"I think I can confirm that," Ella said as she worked a small laptop nearby, "Check it out everyone. I've accessed the security cameras of the hallway and this room, and you might want to see this."

Everyone gathered around Ella and watched the recording on screen. They saw Bharata enter the lab and talk to Julian for a few minutes before Julian tinkered with the Xeno device on the table. There was a flash of light and the two disappeared. The four Rangers stopped and glanced warily at the device sitting on the table. Erik's eyes went wide, "Whoah... what the hell just happened? What is that thing? Did it just vaporize those two?"

"Unlikely," Lucy answered with a serious frown as she reentered the room while frowning at her hand scanner. "This device was taken from those Parallax Towers. The configuration and power requirement to do such a thing is impossible."

"What are you getting at Doc?" Erin asked.

Lucy chewed her lip, "According this scan, there's a high concentration of residual Quadrium particles. Those particles are consistent with the Xeno tech and the effects which bend space time."

"So you're saying that they got hit by a Parallax blast and were thrown out of phase?" Ella asked, "Shouldn't we still be able to see them or something?"

Lucy looked over the device, "Normally yes, but I'm guessing whatever happened, the normal particle field that was emitted was altered causing a different effect. For all we know they could be in a whole new dimension."

Everyone watched as Lucy took off her glasses and rubbed her face with her hands in distress, "This is all my fault... I never should have had Julian work on such a tough project by himself. If something happened to him, it's because of me. And now Bharata might be in danger too."

"Now's not the time to blame anyone Doc," Erik said gently, "Right now, we have to focus on trying to get Bara and Julian back if they're still here."

"Erik is right Luce," Martin nodded as he gestured to the device, "We all care about those two and if anyone can help them right now, it's going to be you."

She stopped and looked at him for a moment before regaining her composure. She put her glasses back on and nodded, "Right. Okay... I guess we can start by tinkering with the operating system more. Lt. Reilly, do you think you can stick around to help me decipher their writing, just in case?"

"Of course," Erin nodded.

As she said that, the base alarm went off warning of another Xeno attack somewhere across the globe. Erik threw up his hands in frustration, "Great! Now what?"

Martin grimaced and put a reassuring hand on the Blue Ranger's shoulder, "We'll take care of this. Erin, you stay here with Dr. Beckett and get our friends back. Erik and Ella, you two are with me. Let's suit up."

As Erin and Lucy got to work and the other Rangers hurried off, Bharata and Julian exchanged a worried look. Bharata moved to join his departing friends but Julian caught his arm for a moment, "Bara! What do you think you're doing?"

"I've got to go help my friends," the Green Ranger insisted, "I know I might not be able to do much right now, but my place is still with them. Maybe I can try to study the enemy up close and find a weakness."

Julian frowned in uncertainty before Bharata shrugged, "Besides, it's not like the aliens can see me or hurt me with their weapons, right?"

Julian finally relented and shook hands with his friend, "All right. Good luck Lieutenant. See you soon."

Bharata gave a nod and phased through the door, hurrying off to join his friends on the battlefield. As Julian paced over and walked over to the two women at the table, he could only hope they would find a way to reverse the effects of the distortion, before anything truly bad could happen.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Sorry for the wait everyone. Just thought I'd work on getting a side story out to tide over the readers of this series. I won't be updating regularly again for a while yet, but this is a little reward for all the patience in the mean time. Also, I'll be holding off on a 6th Ranger for now and setting up for a new story arc instead. I imagine giant war machines are on the horizon soon. ;)**


	28. Team Spirits

**Mission 12: Part 2  
**

A fierce firefight raged between an invading force of Xeno warriors and the local UNAF defense forces of Thailand. Several mixed platoons of heavily armed battle droids and Eidolon soldiers advanced up the beaches toward a UN naval base near the province of Phuket. A small number of armed base personnel and marines stood in the way hoping that they could hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Multi-colored las bolts criss-crossed over the sands of the beach were several marines had dug in with machine guns trying to delay the Xeno advance. Further up the beach at the edge of the rainforests, pockets of the base personnel set up mortar positions to support the marines.

A few mortars got lucky and hit some of the approaching enemy, but the Xenos fanned out and got down into cover before a new commander took the field. A spherical droid with heavy armor rolled swiftly along the sand with two circular treads making it look like some kind of planetoid with vertical rings acting as its primary wheels. The treads glowed with energy and as the large spherical Xeno neared, it transformed quickly and deployed some spider crab legs along with rocket launchers and laser cannons.

The UN troops let loose a blistering hail of fire but their weapons did little to harm the thick metallic armor of the Xeno attack droid. It responded with a cloud of rockets and withering lines of return fire from its blasters. The UN mortar crews cried out in fear as the trees around them were shredded and several of their positions were hit by the rocket attack. Even the marines manning their foxholes ducked as they were pinned down by the Xeno weapon sphere, allowing the foot soldiers to advance again. While the UN forces curled up in momentary disarray, a smaller probe droid zoomed forward from the enemy ranks and made its way toward a nearby communication tower of the naval base.

Just as one of the Eidolon platoons advanced, their lead officer was hit by a blaster bolt and fell backwards as if he had just been clothes-lined. The combatants all stopped and turned to see three unmorphed Nova Rangers appear on the battlefield with their blaster pistols drawn.

"That's far enough cone heads," Erik called out to the Eidolon troopers while the UNAF soldiers regrouped in relief.

"Sir, I think I've found their commander," Ella said pointing to the spherical droid, "Just follow the bouncing ball."

As Martin lowered his smoking blaster pistol, the three heard General Caldwell radioing them on their morphers, "Rangers, we're attempting to scan that Xeno's capabilities. Advance with caution, but don't let the enemy through the defense line. There are schematics for a top secret weapon being stored at the naval base and it cannot fall into enemy hands."

"Understood General," Erik replied as he turned to the Red Ranger, "Martin?"

Martin raised his morpher, "Right, everyone ready? _Energize_!"

The three instantly morphed in unison and drew their weapons, giving their UN allies a momentary boost in morale to meet the oncoming alien infantry.

While the beach lit up again with the fire of energy weapons, Bharata watched as his fellow Rangers began fighting the first wave of Eidolon soldiers in hand to hand combat. The incorporeal Green Ranger had been amazed that he was able to hitch a ride on the transporter to Thailand and used the opportunity to walk the battlefield. Here and there, a Xeno energy bolt or some machine gun rounds would pass harmlessly through him while he made his way toward the spherical robotic commander. As Bharata waded out deeper in the combat zone, he watched as the armored spheroid rolled about, deflecting enemy fire and returning blistering salvos from its weapon laden appendages.

Obviously, its outer armor was too thick and protected so the next logical point of attack on the Xeno was its exposed weapon arms. If only Bharata's allies could get close enough. That was when the Green Ranger got an idea. He reached for his morpher and activated it, " _Energize!_ "

To his surprise, Bharata successfully morphed into his Ranger combat suit, even though he was still out of phase. As he neared the Xeno war machine, he reached for his comm and tried something else, "Julian? Are you there? It's me Bharata!"

Back in the Atlantis base lab, Julian West gasped as he heard a familiar voice on his personal com bead, "Lieutenant? Oh my gosh! Is that really you? What's going on?"

Bharata watched as the spherical Xeno plowed forward past a few UN marines and collided with the three Rangers. It deployed several blasters and opened fire, but the Nova Rangers tumbled past and tried to strike at it with their vibro blades. To their horror, the Xeno weapon wheel swiftly retracted its guns and pulled out several spinning blades as a surprise. It rolled about deflecting the attacks of the Rangers and knocking them aside with punishing slashes of its own saw blades.

"Not great Julian. Our friends are in trouble and the Xeno looks like some kind of freaky Swiss Army knife. We have to do something."

Back in the lab, Julian turned and watched helplessly as Dr. Beckett feverishly worked with Erin over the Parallax emitter. While Lucy worked to edit lines of computer code, Erin used her prototype universal translator to clarify instructions and text in the Xeno operating system. She had been working on a theory that there were many similarities between the language and text of the benevolent Adventi aliens and that of the Xeno-Machina suggesting a common origin. It wasn't perfect yet, but she was using every chance she could get to gather more evidence.

As Julian paced around the table, he noticed that Erin was using some of the computer subroutines that he had worked on for her translation programs. It made him smile a little that he was still present and helping in a way, even if he was more like a ghost at the moment. Finally, Lucy stopped typing on her keyboard and adjusted her glasses, "All right. I think I might have something. I've made some adjustments on this thing to create a reverse particle field. If we can find Julian and Bharata and get them to stand here, we might be able to bring them back by exposing them to the EM field."

"Do you think it'll actually work?" Erin asked nervously.

"We don't have much choice," Lucy replied as she glanced to a nearby computer monitor which was connected to Base Ops. They could see a fierce battle raging on a Thailand beach and the three Nova rangers struggling against the newest alien threat. Lucy activated the device and watched as a bubble field of subspace particles formed in front of them.

To their shock, they suddenly saw Julian walk into the field and stand in place while giving a wave. Lucy stared in both shock and relief at the sight of her trusted aide, "Julian? Is that you? Can you hear me?"

He nodded and tried to speak but his voice was still distorted.

"Have you been here this whole time?" Erin asked curiously. "Where is Bara?"

He shrugged and then looked to Lucy as his boss came back over, "Okay Julian. I need you to hold still for the next several minutes. This particle field is going to rematerialize you but you need to stay here, okay?"

He gave a thumbs up and looked over to the monitor showing the Ranger battle in Thailand. There had to be a way to help Bharata and the other Rangers, even if it was a long shot. Julian stood in place and thought furiously, despseratly clawing for a theoretical solution. As the clock ticked down, he reached for his comm.

"Okay Bara. This is going to be a bit of a stretch but I need you to listen. I'm guessing that the only reason you and I are able to communicate like this is though a parallel channel in subspace. If I can channel the reverse particles from Dr. Beckett through this connection, you may be able to shift in and out of space for a short time until you return back to a solid form too."

"All right, I don't totally get it but I'll follow your lead," Bharata answered as Julian remained standing in the corrective particle field with an open communication channel. While Julian slowly began to phase back in to realspace, he kept his link open with Bharata, transferring the corrective particles through subspace to his ally.

Back on the beach Martin, Erik, and Ella slowly regained their senses and watched in astonishment as a faint ghostly form of Bharata began to flicker in and out existence by the Xeno weapon sphere. Ella could only stare in wide eyed shock, "What the hell is going on here?"

The battle droid stopped and deployed its weapons in confusion having momentarily sensed the Green Ranger right next to it. As it exposed its appendages, Bharata momentarily phased in and struck with his energy blade to sever off several blades and blaster cannons at a time. When the Xeno countered and tried to attack with its other weapons, Bharata phased back out and let the attack pass through him before materializing again to slash off more arms.

"Where did Bara come from? How is he doing this?" Erik asked with a dumbfounded look.

"I have no idea, but it looks like he's been with us in spirit the whole time," Martin grunted with a smile while drawing his blaster pistol.

Having already been disarmed, the Xeno weapon sphere attempted to curl up into its shielded ball form and escape, but Bharata phased in just long enough to ram his vibro-blade through an armor joint and prevent the shell from closing completely.

Bharata turned as he pinned the Xeno in place and sent a garbled transmission to his teammates, "Overcharge!"

"You heard the man! Let's put this alien down," the Red Ranger called as he overcharged his blaster and took aim. Erik and Ella did the same and aimed their guns for the exposed spot in the Xeno sphere's armor. The three fired their guns and the overcharged blasts struck together, blowing apart the cybernetic core of the alien. As it began to detonate, Bharata phased back out one more time to avoid being hurt in the resulting explosion.

Back in the lab, Julian watched one of the computers monitoring the battle and he gave a cheer pumping his fists in the air. "Yes! All right!"

No sooner did the explosion subside was when the Parallax emitter powered down and returned Julian back into his normal state. Erin and Lucy exchanged an excited look before Lucy rushed over and embraced her assistant. After letting go, she crushed his cheeks with her hands, "Julian! You're back! Thank God you're okay! I am so sorry about all this! I…"

Julian laughed and steadied his mentor by her shoulders, "It's okay boss. You don't have to apologize. It's good to be back… and thank you."

He was suddenly surprised as Erin gave a relieved cheer and threw her arms around his neck giving her friend a welcome back hug too. "Julian! You really had us worried, you know that?"

The tech took a moment to steady himself while his face turned a little red, "Oh… Erin. Um… I'm sorry for the scare."

As much as he wanted to savor the moment, he let go of Erin and reached over to one of the computers nearby. There was something he had to check first.

* * *

A large plume of sand and fire erupted from the beach as the spherical battle droid exploded in a cloud of spiraling fiery shrapnel. Once the smoke cleared, the Rangers lowered their blasters and gave a sigh of relief. Coming from the fires, Bharata walked forward and powered down. He looked completely unharmed and wore a smile on his face. Erik threw a relieved arm around Bharata's neck while Ella gave his other hand a squeeze. "Welcome back buddy! I don't know what happened just now, but I'm glad that it did."

"Thanks for the save Bara!" Ella sighed, "Is everything okay? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," the Green Ranger nodded before turning to his commander, "Err... I hope you didn't think I was going AWOL or anything, sir. Permission to return to post?"

Martin smiled warmly and clasped Bharata's hand in a firm shake, "Permission granted Bara. Welcome back."

As the fires died down, he scratched his head, "Lieutenant, do you mind telling us exactly what on earth is going on here?"

Bharata raised a finger before sending a transmission back to base, "Soon enough Captain. Lieutenant Timothy to Atlantis Base, enemy has been neutralized. What's your status?"

"All is well back here Lieutenant," came Julian's voice on the other end of the line, "I'm glad you also made it through okay. We'll leave the welcome mat out for you guys when you get back home."

Bharata smiled, "Glad to hear it Julian, and thanks again."

While the rest of the UN troopers gave another cheer nearby, no one noticed the Xeno reconnaissance droid that had affixed itself to the communication tower as it disengaged. After having tapped into the communication array and finding the information it was looking for, the spy droid transmitted a signal back into space for the mothership before self-destructing. Its remains sprinkled down in a cloud of fiery shrapnel leaving no one the wiser as to what crucial danger it had now started for the Terran defense forces.

* * *

A couple days later, Bharata Timothy returned to the R&D lab looking for Julian. After having been debriefed and going through a battery of medical exams, he was cleared for duty and eager to get back his Nova Morpher which had been taken in for routine maintenance by Lucy. When he entered the lab, he was surprised to find Julian at his workstation polishing up the morpher instead.

"Bharata! Hey mate! You're just in time," Julian smiled brightly as he held out the morpher to the Ranger, "I was waiting for you."

Bharata took his morpher and slipped it back on to his wrist, "Thanks... but I thought Dr. Beckett would be..."

"I volunteered to take care of this one," Julian chuckled as he waved it off, "I already know that I can service these morphers in my sleep. But there's another reason I wanted to give that back to you."

Bharata raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"I wanted to say thank you for being a good friend and giving me some encouragement," Julian said while crossing his arms, "It's easy to feel a little insecure around so many important people around here, but you helped me see that my role didn't make me any less significant as a team member."

"Don't mention it," Bharata smiled giving his younger friend a fist bump. "I'm just glad to have my morpher back now."

"You'll be even more glad after hearing what I did to it," Julian replied proudly, "I added on an extra little feature for you."

"Go on..."

The tech grinned, "I adapted that Xeno tech and installed a small emitter to the morpher which should allow you to temporarily phase out for a very short amount of time. It's still kinda new and we'll need to run more trials on it, but I figured a little stealth feature would go a long way to helping the Rangers in a pinch."

Bharata grinned from ear to ear, "Thanks Julian! That sounds awesome! I can't wait to try it out."

"Well you might have to wait a while," Julian chuckled as he tidied up his workstation, "I'm about to go on break for a while."

"Ah… you've got a follow up medical exam too?" Bharata asked.

Julian shook his head, "Nope, lunch with a very lovely lady."

Just then the main door swished open and Erin popped her head in, "Hey Julian! You ready to go? I heard they're serving fried mozzarella sticks in the mess hall so we'd better get a move on before they're gone."

Julian shot Bharata a sly look and tossed his white lab coat to the Green Ranger before following Erin out the door, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

As he watched them depart, Bharata put his hands on his hips and began to laugh out loud before a new idea crossed his mind. Maybe he could get a head start on testing his new stealth mode after all. He could start by using it to spy on Julian's little lunch date. After all, Bharata was the team's intelligence officer and this development possibly warranted further surveillance… or at the very least blackmail material to use against Erin later.

Bharata gave a sly look around the lab to see that no one else was watching before he reached for his morpher and whispered quietly, " _Energize_."


	29. Brevet Officers

**Mission 13: Part 1  
**

A mild warm breeze came in through the open window as Erik Dobermann Jr. sat in his quarters dabbling on a small electric keyboard. He gave a content sigh while playing a few chords and arpeggios. Before joining the military, his mother had insisted he learned to play the piano hoping he would one day become a concert pianist. Of course he still enjoyed music, but instead he opted to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a career military officer. Even while he sat reflecting on past decisions made, he couldn't help but wonder where his father was right now or what he was doing. He had never had much of a relationship with the man as he was always gone, but even now, he could only wonder and make a vow that he would not be the same way with his own daughter.

While he fiddled some more on the keyboard, he wondered just how long the peace and quiet would last, especially since he knew his commanding officer would be busier than usual this week. It was that time of year again when most unit commanders were bogged down in paperwork. There were stacks of mission reports to go over, requisition forms to sign off on, and even worse, personnel evaluations that had to be done too.

As he was Martin's Executive Officer, Erik wanted to be sure to ease the burden on his captain's workload by handling any administrative nuisances or squad issues that would otherwise be considered annoying or unpleasant. The last thing Erik needed was for a pissed off C.O. doing their team evaluations while angry. He stopped when the door chime sounded, "Enter."

The Blue Ranger glanced up from his keyboard and blinked in surprise as both Erin and Ella angrily stormed in to his room. Erin gave a hasty salute before pointing at Ella, "Erik! I've got a major problem here."

"Speak for yourself," Ella retorted angrily as she smacked Erin's hand aside and stepped forward, "I haven't had a good night's sleep in days with all your snoring and midnight study sessions. Do you have to be such a nerd and stay up late reading your stupid books all the time?"

"Yeah, so that I don't become a ditzy airhead like some people" Erin shot back heatedly, "You think I like tripping over all your clutter and having my stuff get lost under all your extra civie clothes? I swear Ella, you can be such a huge slob sometimes!"

Ella growled and stared down her fellow female Ranger, "Oh that's it Reilly! You're about to lose another book and I'm going to shove it where the sun don't…"

"Ladies! That's enough!" Erik barked as he jumped to his feet, "Cool it, alright?"

Both female Rangers crossed their arms and grumbled something while refusing to look at one another.

Erik sighed with a level frown, "Listen girls, I know that the renovations to the female officers' quarters are a pain to deal with right now, but it won't be for much longer. You two have bunked together before on past missions, haven't you?"

"Well yeah… but that's different. That was only for a day or two at a time," Erin sighed, "Having to deal with each other's different routines for over a week now... well, we're just about ready to strangle each other!"

"Come on Erik! Isn't there something you can do?" Ella whined.

The Blue Ranger sighed and folded his hands behind him, "Well, unless you two want to be reassigned to new roommates in the mean time…"

"Fine. Great," Erin quickly answered giving one more dirty look toward Ella, "The sooner the better."

Ella stuck her tongue out in reply but both were silenced as Erik cleared his throat and fixed them with a stern glare. The two girls backed down before Erik gave a nod, "All right then. I'll work on the new room assignments now. In the mean time, try to not kill each other, please? We have enough Xenos out there trying to do that already."

Erin gave an apologetic nod, "Sorry Erik. It's just kinda weird seeing you like this."

He raised an eyebrow before Ella explained, "You're usually always smiling and laughing around here. It's just different seeing you do an impression of Martin just now... being all stern and serious, you know?"

Erik began to chuckle lightly, "Really? Me a disciplinarian? I was actually drawing on some different experiences just now."

The girls exchanged a puzzled look while Erik sat back down, "I just figured I'd deal with you two the same way I do with my daughter Sarah when she has one of her temper tantrums."

Ella pouted and gave a mild huff, "Great, so you're basically saying Erin and I are behaving like little children now?"

The Blue Ranger shrugged with a grin and turned toward some paperwork on his desk, "Hey, you said it Catalano. Not me."

Before the girls could squabble any more, the three Rangers heard their morphers sound. For the time being, they were glad to take their mind off this petty issue and blow off their steam on something more productive.

* * *

A short while later, the other Rangers all assembled in the base's central command tower and made their way into General Caldwell's large briefing room which was adjoined to the Operations floor. There they found Caldwell looking out the large windows overlooking the ocean while Martin sat at the table paging through a recent intelligence report. Across from him sat Lucy who was also busy going over some labwork on a datapad.

The older general turned and greeted the other Rangers with his usual brisk, but kindly smile, "Rangers. Thanks for coming. Please be seated."

The squad settled in as Caldwell took his place at the head of the table. "Everyone, I've called you here to discuss something very important. What I'm about to say does not leave this room. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded before a holographic display appeared over the table. It looked to be schematics of large technologically advanced war machines. As the Rangers took a moment to marvel at the sleek vehicles, Caldwell cleared his throat, "These are some general schematics of a new top secret weapon system that the UNAF has been working on. This project has been going on for several years and has been a collaborative effort of several major world powers. Thanks to their funding, research, and materiel, the project is nearing completion."

Lucy gave a pleased smile while Bharata asked aloud, "General… what is it exactly?"

Caldwell couldn't help but smile himself, "Rangers, these vehicles have been given the designation of Mecha-zords."

"Mecha-zords?" Erin asked as she continued to stare in wonder.

Lucy rose from her seat and took over controlling the holographic display, "Mechanized- Zero Option Robotic Defenses. Each vehicle is a large combat vehicle in its own right, but we've adapted Adventi technology to take it a step further. We've developed a means to fuse the individual craft into a larger fighting machine when necessary."

Erik gave a low whistle watching an animation of the vehicles combine together into a colossal battle droid, "Very impressive. I take it these craft are going to be used to take it to the Xeno-Machina?"

Martin nodded as the display changed again, "That's right Erik. In the prior invasion of Earth, the Xenos had fielded a small number of robotic titans much like the mecha-zord here. Those titans caused massive destruction and served as a warning that we needed to step up our defensive capabilities as well. Now that the Xenos have come with a whole battle fleet around the moon, we need to be ready in case they decide to deploy any more of those on our surface."

Caldwell paced the room, "The UNAF naval base that you had defended in Thailand recently had been involved in working on the zord project and shipping over some supplies. Right now, the project is secretly being finished in the city of Dubai, located in the United Arab Emirates. This is where Nova Squad comes in again. I will need you to personally deliver one of the last critical project components to a top scientist working on the project."

Lucy nodded, "Dr. Igncacio Rizal had been a longtime friend of my father and they worked together on several of these projects. He's currently involved in perfecting a stable reactor core for the Mecha-zord's power source. In order for him to finish, he'll need some special isotopes that we've been synthesizing in our lab."

"Well… the mission seems simple enough," Erik shrugged, "We're just dropping off the goods and babysitting some scientists for a few days."

Martin leaned back in his seat, "How would you like to take the reins on this one Lieutenant?"

The Blue Ranger balked, "What? Are you serious? You actually want me to lead the squad on a field mission?"

"Why not?" Martin shrugged, "You've been doing a great job of managing things for me this week. Why not take the squad out and get some exercise in?"

"You said it yourself. This should be an easy routine assignment," Ella added to Erik with a hopeful smile.

He knew there was really nothing to worry about here. The thought of being the acting squad commander was very exciting, but also terrifying in a way. Taking care of the teams administrative tasks, filling out paperwork, and settling arguments was one thing, but being responsible for an actual field assignment was something else entirely. Even during his time with the German Air Force, his job as a team medic was always more of a close support role than as an active leader who issued orders or made judgment calls.

"You're really sure about this Martin?" Erik asked with slight hesitation.

The Red Ranger smiled, "I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't trust you Erik. I'm still going to be bogged down doing paperwork here but I think it should be fine, and Caldwell agrees too."

Erik looked to Caldwell and the older man nodded, "I think getting a little more experience in direct command would be good for you Lieutenant. Do you think you can handle this assignment?"

Erik looked to the rest of the team before giving a nod, "Yes sir. You can count on me."

* * *

Dim lights lit the corridors of the Xeno central mothership as Taldyr made his way toward the lifts which headed to the upper command decks of the ship. As the Eidolon soldier walked down the hall, he eyed some of the servitors who went about their maintenance tasks on the ship. The cybernetic automatons paid him no mind and the foot soldier warily passed by. After getting on the lift, Taldyr did one last quick inspection of his battle armor and wiped away a smudge on his breastplate. He took another look at his conical barbute helmet and tucked it under his shoulder.

Even as the lift continued to rise, Taldyr felt an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. He ran through several theories in his head, but he could not for the life of him understand why Warmaster Hellspont and Commander Decimus would want to see a lowly soldier like him. When the lift stopped, Taldyr exited and headed down the hallway toward one of the command rooms where he was met with the intimidating figures of Hellspont and one of his sub commanders named Decimus.

Unlike the humanoid Warmaster encased in a suit of impressive power armor, Decimus was more machine than man. Commander Decimus had been an aggressive and bloodthirsty infantry commander who had been horribly maimed in battle long ago. Now, the subcommander was a heavy battle droid who appeared to resemble a cross between a mechanized walker and a heavily armed tank. At the center of the droid's bulky frame was what looked to be a sort of steel sarcophagus in which Decimus's organic remains lingered. As was common practice among the Xeno Machina, the mangled bodies of important warriors or commanders were sometimes recovered and allowed to continue their service as walking weapon-laden crypts until they were finally destroyed in battle.

Taldyr halted before the Warmaster, lowered his shaved head and saluted. "Sergeant Taldyr of Squad 13, reporting as ordered."

The Warmaster eyed the young Xeno soldier with an appraising look. In many ways, Taldyr was like all the other genetically modified human male soldiers who had been cloned to do battle for the Xeno cause. He had shaved dark hair and sharp but aesthetically pleasing features… a useless byproduct of the genetic process. Like the other Xeno foot soldiers, he had a slightly taller and stronger build than their average Terran enemies. Of course, there were separate segregated units of female Eidolons too, but that was something else entirely.

Hellspont paced the room thoughtfully, "I understand you were birthed from the fourth generation batch?"

"Yes sir. My company served in the battles around the Orion Cluster. We had also been deployed in the recent attack on the place the Terrans call, Russia."

The Warmaster continued his pacing, "I understand your company has suffered large numbers of casualties and your own squad's numbers have been greatly reduced."

"These Terrans of Earth have been… surprisingly formidable opponents, Warmaster."

Hellspont turned and fixed his eyes on the soldier, "Tell me Taldyr. Do you have any idea why I've summoned you here today?"

The Eidolon trooper screwed his features up and shook his head, "No sir. I do not."

The Warmaster gestured to his subordinate, "I called you here to reassign you to Commander Decimus. We're going to launch an important operation and I think you may be of use to him."

"Sir?"

Decimus spoke next, in a deep and intimidating robotic voice, "We've been doing some studies of our units and noticed some surprising things from the batch you were grown from. Some soldiers from your group have exhibited greater degrees of free independent thinking. The reason we created your kind was to try and counter the unpredictability of the Terrans."

"But we are stronger, faster, and more durable than them," Taldyr insisted, "We've been able to hold our own against those human soldiers of Earth."

"But you have been unable to decisively defeat them. The humans are free thinking, adaptable, and unpredictable. Having our soldiers unable to take the same initiative or adapt in battle has been a continuing problem," Hellspont replied. "That is where you come in. I believe that you and some of your fellow Eidolon brothers may be better suited to lead and exercise your judgment on the battlefield."

"You want me to lead a company?" Taldyr asked in shock.

"I want you to be my second officer," Decimus rumbled, "Congratulations Lieutenant."

The Eidolon stood in shock. After having been promoted and given a command in a major mission, he didn't know what to say. He simply nodded and gave a Xeno salute.

Hellspont turned and looked toward a display screen where his newest operation was being planned out, "Now… there is work to be done. One of our spy drones had recently uncovered a top secret weapon being developed by the Terrans. Your job will be to land in the Terran city of Dubai and locate their hidden base. You must destroy that weapon before it becomes operational."

Taldyr frowned, "How are we going to do that Warmaster? The humans have a strong line of orbital guns to keep us away."

"I will worry about that," Hellspont said while folding his hands behind him, "I want you and Commander Decimus to prepare your landing force. If you have to level every building and kill every Terran in that city to complete the task, then do it."

"As you command," Decimus boomed before lumbering his large frame out the doorway with his newest executive officer in tow.

* * *

Upon being teleported into the city of Dubai, Erik Dobermann and the rest of the Nova Rangers squinted from the bright glare of the sun above. They could all feel the oppressive heat of the desert air and took a moment to look around the bustling urban plaza around them. In many ways, the city was like an oasis in the hot dry deserts of the Middle East. The greenery of well manicured parks had been interspersed with attractive fountains while some modern skyscrapers and office buildings formed an impressive skyline. Lining the streets of the downtown area were luxury boutique stores and trendy high end restaurants and condos. At the very heart of the small city was its defining feature, the colossal futuristic glass tower Burj Khalifa. It reflected the bright glare of the desert sun and lit up the area around it like a giant column of light.

"Wow… this is going to be one great assignment," Ella remarked as she admired the palm trees and almost resort looking feel of the plaza they had been sent to.

The Rangers stopped and turned as a small group of armed UNAF soldiers walked forward escorting a late middle aged Filipino man in a light colored summer suit. The man adjusted his green tie and exposed his ID badge before greeting the Rangers with a smile, "Ah! Welcome to Dubai. You are the Nova Rangers from Atlantis?"

Erik stepped forward and shook the man's hand, "Yes sir. I'm Lieutenant Erik Doberman and this is Nova Squad. You're Doctor Rizal?"

The well dressed man smiled and nodded, "That's correct Lieutenant. Thank you for coming. I was told that you came here with a delivery?"

Erik nodded and gestured to Bharata who removed a large silver canister from his rucksack. Erik took the container and handed it off to Dr. Rizal, "Here are the isotopes you needed for your projects, compliments of Dr. Lucy Beckett."

Mr. Rizal gave a warm smile, "Ah yes... I knew her father. He was a good friend of mine and a colleague I really admired. I think the last time I saw Lucy was during her father's funeral several years back. How is she?"

"She's well sir," Erik answered, "She's now the Chief of Engineering at Atlantis Base and she wanted us to send her regards."

Rizal gave a nod to the armed UNAF guards with him and moved to depart, "Thank you again for bringing this to us. If you'd like, I'd be happy to give you four a tour of our facilities and show you the progress of our project. I'm sure General Caldwell will be happier if we can get in a possible test run in the next few days."

"We look forward to it Doctor. Thank you," Erik said.

Rizal gestured to one of the guards, "I'm going to be headed back to the facility. Maybe one of you should show our guests to their accommodations?"

A sergeant gave a short nod and turned to Erik with a respectful salute, "I'll see you to your rooms sir. Please follow me."

After heading further downtown, the team was showed to a hotel where they were given special accommodations. While they still had to share two rooms between them, Erin and Ella didn't seem to be concerned with their prior argument of bunking together. The novelty of staying in an upscale hotel for the next few days seemed like a fair trade off. Not long after Erik and Bharata dropped their bags in their own room, the Green and Pink Ranger decided to spend the rest of the afternoon going sightseeing around town. As the city was located right on the coast of the Persian Gulf, the two were also eager to try and see if they could try and hit the beach and go parasailing.

Some time after they departed, Erik made his way by himself to a local bar nearby to relax and cool off. He found a trendy upscale watering hole with colorful vaguely Egyptian or Persian decor. The Blue Ranger found a corner table by himself and settled in taking a big satisfied gulp of a tall cold beer that he had ordered. " _Mein Gott im Himmel_ , (My God in Heaven) they have a good German brew here."

While he sat and took in his surroundings, he let his mind wander and think about his temporary command right now. Again, he was probably psyching himself out more than he needed to be but he couldn't help but feel excited and nervous at the same time. Again, his thoughts drifted to his father and he wondered what his own dad would say if he knew Erik was supervising an operation. Would he be proud? Would he be critical? Would he even care?

As Erik took another sip, he felt a tap on the shoulder and turned in surprise when he was joined by the Yellow Ranger. Erin ambled over with a friendly smile, "Hey Erik, mind if I join you?"

He gestured to the open seat across from him, "Please."

Erin took a seat and gestured to a server who came by and delivered a drink she had ordered for herself. After she took a sip of the cocktail, she gave her friend a curious look, "Sorry, I didn't really feel like running around in the heat today with Bara and Ella. You came here to cool off too?"

Erik shrugged, "Kinda. I guess I just had a lot on my mind. Both Caldwell and Martin put me in charge here, so it's just kind of a new feeling having to be responsible and worrying about everything."

"Well, you did a good job dealing with Ella and my little spat yesterday."

Erik rolled his eyes and took a swig of beer, "That's not exactly the same thing."

Erin laughed, "Okay, but look around you Erik. Nothing bad is going on. The package was delivered and aside from going to look at this Mecha-zord, we're essentially on a three day pass in a glamorous city."

Erik leaned back thoughtfully, "All right. Fair enough... but I'm just thinking worst case scenario. If I'm going to be in charge for this assignment, I'm still going to need a second in command here... just in case."

"Are you nominating me for the position?" Erin snorted in amusement.

"Do you see any other Rangers here?" Erik retorted with a smile.

" _Touche_ ," Erin relented as she raised her cocktail glass in surrender.

"How about it Erin?" Erik asked, "I'd wager you're the brainiest one among us... plus you probably know how to speak enough Arabic to get around here. It'd be a big asset."

"Sure. Why not? But if you're going to go the route of flattery, please feel free to keep going on a little more," Erin smiled.

Erik sighed and shook his head to himself again suddenly feeling a newfound respect for Martin and all the wisecracks he had to endure from their team.

After a companionable quiet settled at the table for a moment, Erin tilted her head slightly, "Okay, to be serious for a moment, are you sure everything is okay? When I came over, you seemed really preoccupied with something."

Erik frowned slightly debating if he wanted to make any comments about his own father. Ultimately he decided against it and shook his head, "Thanks Erin, but I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"All right," the Yellow Ranger said thoughtfully as she continued to people-watch. "In that case, I was going to make a suggestion."

"Oh?"

Erin nodded, "What do you say we go do some recon and get a lay of the land? I can practice my Arabic and we can find a good place to get some grub today."

Erik simply smiled and decided that he did make a good choice for his new XO after all.


	30. Dark Skies

**Mission 13: Part 2  
**

The Xeno Machina soldier Taldyr took a deep breath as he watched the approaching blue globe in front of him grow larger and larger in the ship's viewscreen. He strapped himself into a seat on the command deck of the _Gorgon_ , a light carrier in the alien fleet. Across the way, the hulking form of Commander Decimus braced himself while the cyborg ship captain and his drone crewmen continued about their duties with an unusual calmness about them. When going into battle situations, Taldyr had always been a little uncomfortable being in transports or advance guard ships. He was a foot soldier and the idea of being helpless in space unnerved him. He had no control of the ship and had to trust that the pilots and crew of the ship would land them safely. While the small carrier he was on was heavily armored and shielded, he could only wonder if it would be enough. He hated the thought of getting vaporized by Earth orbital defense guns without being able to fight back.

"Now entering Terran air defense zone," one of the drone crewman announced calmly.

The Xeno captain nodded slowly, "Deploy the countermeasures. Maximum power to forward shields. Engines, all ahead full."

Taldyr felt the ship rumble slightly as the engines powered up to full thrust. While the carrier sped forward, it deployed several smaller shield projectors which formed a protective interlocking screen around the front of the ship. Moments later, the carrier rattled again as several of the Earth's orbital guns powered up and got a fix on their target. The guns fired several alternating bursts of superheated energy which pummeled the shields of the advancing Xeno carrier.

Taldyr gripped a support rail with white knuckles as the ship shook violently and continued on through the barrage. Here and there, the artificial projectors buckled and cracked while each shot wore away more of the carrier's added protection.

"Clearing the range of enemy guns in 30 seconds," a droid announced, "Preparing for atmospheric entry."

The carrier was rocked again by one more salvo and its shield projectors failed, but it was just enough to clear the line of guns and enter the upper atmosphere. Had it not been a capital ship, it was likely that any less of a vessel in the Xeno fleet would have been obliterated just now. Taldyr gave a relieved gasp and turned to his commander. The mechanical war machine turned from a console and gave a report to the ship's captain, "Secondary shield projectors have been destroyed, but they got us through. Minor hull damage reported on decks four through seven."

The cyborg captain swiveled his biomechanical head back and focused on the new heading, "Very good. Helm, set course for the human city of Dubai. Decimus, you will have command of the ground assault when we arrive. You will have thirty minutes until the attack, beginning right now."

* * *

The next morning, Erik Dobermann and his team gathered together after breakfast and met with Dr. Rizal. From downtown Dubai, they took a special monorail which carried the group out on a short ride toward the edge of the city. While they glided along the rails, they saw the tracks lead out toward a cluster of artificially created islands just off the edge of the city's coastline. If one were flying above, they would have recognized the place as the famous Palm Jumeirah, or Palm Islands. In a feat of engineering and artistry, a cluster of the artificial islands had been constructed in the shape of a large palm tree which radiated out into the gulf waters.

As they sped along, Erik glanced out at the ships in the water and smiled, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see a few missile destroyers and patrol boats around here, huh?"

"How can you tell?" Ella asked curiously.

Erik shrugged and pointed out in the distance, "The UNAF ships have distinct profiles. You can't tell them apart?"

"I thought you were an Air Force guy," Erin pointed out, "I wouldn't have pegged you as an expert in spotting ships too."

Erik hesitated before speaking, "My Dad… he served in the Navy and still does. I guess a little bit of that rubbed off on me."

"I didn't know that either," Bharata chimed in, "How come you never mentioned that you've got family in the service too?"

Erik remained quiet and tilted his head toward the tracks, deciding to change the subject, "Let's stay focused everyone. We're almost there. Dr. Rizal?"

The older man nodded and took hold of a handrail as the tracks split off into an out of the way line on the Palm Islands. A bunker door opened and the monorail was directed into a downward sloping path where the secret underground Mecha-zord facilities were located. As they rode the final leg of the journey, Erin looked to Eric with quiet curiosity, wondering about some things from yesterday and trying to make some possible connections.

The monorail finally stopped and the squad was led out into the central hub of the underground facility. A small army of scientists, mechanics, and technicians buzzed about with their tasks as teams of armed UNAF soldiers stood guard, watching over the base. Rizal led the team through the security checkpoints with his badge and the enlisted guards gave salutes to the Rangers before letting them pass.

"Wow! This place is pretty amazing," Bharata remarked as they walked down the busy well-lit corridors. "Who would have thought they would have built a huge secret R&D facility here?"

"Exactly. A resort area would be the last place you'd expect the military to be operating out of," Erin chuckled.

Rizal smiled as he led the team toward the sprawling central hanger bays, "I'm afraid you haven't seen anything yet Miss Reilly."

He opened the last doors and led them to an observation deck overlooking the hanger and the four Nova Rangers stood with their jaws hanging open. Down below were three massive war machines: two of which looked to be a variant of military tanks while the third appeared to be some sort of aircraft. The three zords stood a few stories tall and were lined with scaffolds where technicians and engineers busily welded, riveted, and tested electronic systems. The doctor grinned proudly and made a grand gesture with his hands, "Rangers, I present to you the Mecha-zords. We're hoping that once we get them operational and field tested, you can use them in battle against the Xeno Machina.

"Are you kidding me? Those things are basically for us?" Ella exclaimed in excitement, "This is so awesome!"

"Of course we're not quite there yet," Rizal sighed as he led the Rangers away from the platform and into a secure lab. "Such a war machine will require massive amounts of power and I'm hoping the materials you gave me will be able to help us provide it."

Erik folded his arms and smiled, "Well, I've got to say... I'm really impressed. This could be a game changer in the war."

"So… how does this all work?" Bharata asked curiously as he began to eye the high tech laboratory situated nearby.

"I'm glad you asked Lieutenant," Rizal said as he led the team into a central lab and gestured to a huge tube-like device in one corner of the room, "This is the Mecha-zord's reactor core. I'm currently making some final adjustments before we test it out."

He flipped a few switches and began power up the device to an idle state causing the materials within the tube to swirl and glow with a soft blue light, "We've been experimenting with using anti-matter as a power source, but it's very finicky and volatile. This device is used to stabilize the reactions within a special EM field and then channel it safely to the zord systems. I'm hoping these isotopes should help with that process."

Ella nodded and walked around, glancing at some of the computer codes used for programming the zords. "This looks like a nice setup Doctor. May I look at it?"

Rizal nodded and gestured for the Rangers to come along, "Of course Miss Catalano. Come along everyone, there's still quite a bit to see here and lots of work yet to be done."

* * *

After clearing the atmosphere, the Xeno carrier _Gorgon_ made a fast descent toward its target on the Earth. As they headed toward one of the ship's launching bay, Commander Decimus and Taldyr supervised the loading of the troop transports. As the last of the Eidolons strapped into their landing craft, Taldyr watched as his commander was fitted with additions to his mechanized frame. Besides some heavier blast armor, Decimus stirred restlessly while a flamethrower and heavy chaingun were fitted to his arms.

"You remember the mission plan?" the monstrous Xeno asked his subordinate, "Once we take control of the city's airspace, our groups will storm the Terran defenders on the ground with a direct assault."

Taldyr hesitated, "Commander... I'm still a little unsure about that part. I know we can take those positions, but a direct attack might be costly."

"You are questioning my orders?" Decimus boomed threateningly while swiveling his hulking frame around.

The Eidolon shuddered and sucked in a breath, "I... no sir. It's just the casualty rate might..."

"The casualty rate be damned," Decimus snarled, "We are here to get results and we won't do it by shying away from danger. If a lot of Eidolons get killed, we'll just grow some new ones. In the name of our kind's conquest, we are all expendable Taldyr. I am, and so are you."

The mechanized brute lumbered away leaving his rebuked Lieutenant pinned in place. It was true that Decimus was a successful warrior, but he often achieved his goals through attrition and Pyrrhic victories. For now, Taldyr went back to work with growing feelings of uncertainty and apprehension about this newest assault.

While mulled over these thoughts, the carrier _Gorgon_ cruised over the desert skies and launched a wing of Strigon fighters to meet a small flight group of United Arab Emerite fighters that were en route to intercept it. The effort proved to be futile as the outdated planes of the local air forces were quickly slaughtered by the Xeno fighters. Having suffered no losses, the Xeno squadrons regrouped and led the way toward Dubai casting a menacing visage with their black and red paint. It was their mission to spread those same colors over the rest of the city ahead.

* * *

After leaving the secret facilities and emerging from the underground bunker, the Nova Rangers made their way back toward the city on the Palm Island monorail. While the scientists and engineers at the base continued their tireless work on the zords, the Rangers decided to get some rest after their long tour of the research labs. Early evening was fast approaching, but a thick bed of dark rain clouds had begun to blanket the skies. As they cruised along, Ella and Bharata sat quietly looking over some datapads to try and catch up on local news reports. While they did, Erik stood apart and looked out toward the deep waters of the Persian Gulf where several ships continued to cruise along in the distance.

"Thinking about your father again?" Erin asked as she walked over and sat down by Erik to join him on the train bench.

"I wasn't... what makes you think I was thinking about him?" Erik frowned with a mildly defensive tone.

Erin cast her gaze out over the waters, "Come on Erik, part of being a Communications specialist means listening closely to others when they talk... and at times, reading in between the lines. If I had to guess, it was on your mind yesterday too."

"Okay, so maybe I was thinking about it a little," Erik admitted, "I get that you want to do your job as my right hand woman here, but you don't have to be concerned about it."

Erin fixed him with a pointed look and put a supportive hand on his broad shoulder, "Or maybe I'm just being concerned because I'm one of your friends. I can see something is troubling you, and I want to help if I can."

The Blue Ranger looked away quietly and sighed.

"Come on Erik. Talk to me. What's troubling you?"

Before he could answer, the monorail stopped abruptly jolting everyone in surprise. The four cast puzzled looks to each other before looking outside to see if something was wrong with the train or the tracks. To their horror, they saw several large menacing figures descend from the cloudy skies over the distant city center. A large Xeno carrier vessel rumbled along followed by a cloud of fighter craft and heavy drop ships.

"Oh shit... this is not happening," Erin exclaimed in horror with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

From their position on the Palm Island rails, the four Rangers watched as large scale invasion began on the other end of the city proper. Ella turned to Erik and gripped his sleeve, "Erik... what should we do?"

The Blue Ranger blinked several times before he remembered he was now in command. He had to be decisive and do something. "Okay... Bara, get to the front of the monorail and tell the engineer to get going. We need to get back in the city and defend the civilians while they escape. Erin, get on the comms and warn Atlantis Base. Tell Caldwell we need help. Ella, try and call Martin directly and tell him everything."

While the team sprung into action, Erik could only continue watching in dread as the skies grew darker and the once shining city of Dubai came under alien assault.

* * *

A cool breeze gently rippled in the air as early evening began to set in over Atlantis Base. All along the West End, street lights began to light up the parkways and boulevards of the floating city's commercial and residential district. As the lights began to flicker on, Lucy Beckett made her way back toward her apartment complex and tried to keep her current jogging pace.

As she continued to run, she panted and gasped for breath feeling a sharp burn in her lungs and legs. She had pushed herself hard for a mile and a half and felt a renewed respect for the Nova Rangers and the other soldiers serving in the UNAF. Running two miles was likely just a warm up for them making her glad she didn't have to follow that up with all sorts of other strength training, obstacle courses, and combat drills. Although she had thankfully maintained a relatively slim and attractive figure, it was clear that being one of the Atlantis Base "eggheads" didn't exactly help when it came to physical fitness or conditioning either. She made a mental note to herself to add in an extra gym day during the work week.

As she cooled down and slowed her jog, she headed down a lit commercial thoroughfare which led to her home. While she walked the familiar path, she passed by some residents and other base personnel who were enjoying an evening off or doing some shopping in the many local stores. To her surprise, she stopped when she bumped into Martin and Sgt. Clarissa Lewis. The younger blond haired woman had served alongside Nova Squadron in their first battle in Paris and had taken charge of her unit when her commander was killed in action. While Lucy didn't know too much about the precocious sergeant, she had heard Martin speak favorably about Clarissa and praise her abilities as a junior non-commissioned officer.

She continued to watch as both soldiers headed out of an upscale clothing store and parted ways. Martin held a shopping bag and gave a grateful wave, "Hey thanks again for the help Clarissa! I really appreciate your help tonight!"

"Don't mention it Captain. I wish you luck... and I'm sure it'll look great too," she winked as she waved back and headed back off into the crowd.

Martin turned and stopped in surprise when he saw the disheveled looking Lucy still catching her breath and wiping some sweat from her gray workout top. "Lucy... I wasn't expecting to see you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she insisted while making one last effort to look presentable, "Really... I'm good."

"Sorry, it's just kinda unusual seeing you like this... I mean, not all polished and put together."

Lucy put her hands on her hips, "Well... maybe I felt like doing something different. Maybe I decided to work out more and challenge myself a little."

Martin scrutinized her for a minute and raised his hands with a neutral shrug, "Okay, do you mind if I walk you home?"

She shook her head the two friends continued on down the street. They walked in silence for a minute before Lucy spoke, "So... uh, you were out shopping with Sergeant Lewis tonight?"

Martin shrugged again, "We ran into each other at the gym earlier and I asked for her help gift shopping tonight. Erin and Ella are away on a mission and I needed a girl's opinion on something."

"I could have helped you with that," Lucy pointed out but he glanced away.

"Oh, I don't know... You seemed busy lately so I just didn't want to bother you."

She frowned slightly, "Oh... I see. I'm guessing you were buying something for Christina then?"

Martin reached into the bag and slowly pulled out a nice purple scarf, "Actually... yeah. Her birthday is coming up in autumn so I thought this would help keep her warm. She's from Minnesota, and a football fan too so I thought the color was appropriate."

For a Northern California girl like Lucy, it didn't mean much to her so she gave a quiet non-commital nod. After walking another block, she stopped abruptly and sighed, "Martin... I've been wanting to apologize to you."

He stopped and turned toward her, listening quietly as she continued, "I want to say that I'm sorry for being mad at you and for us getting into a big fight over lunch a week ago."

"No, don't sweat it. You don't have to apologize," he said gently, "I guess I haven't really been helping things either, so I'm sorry for arguing with you too. It's okay... really."

"No... it's not," she said looking away, "I know things between us have been a little... well, weird lately and I haven't been completely honest with you either. I know I told you that I wasn't ready to be um, like the way you and Christina are right now. But I haven't exactly been fair to you either. To be completely honest, I've been feeling more jealous than anything."

Martin stopped and frowned slightly, "Wait... you've been jealous? Of Chrissy?"

"Well... kinda," Lucy shrugged, "But not just her, in fact everyone really. I just... I just kinda miss you. I miss the way things were before everyone else came along. I miss the way you and I spent a lot of time together and confided with one another about everything. I liked our routine and I liked how safe it felt, you know? Just having our special friend time. God, this all sounds really petty and childish, doesn't it?"

He smiled gently and shook his head, "No. Not at all. You shouldn't have to feel that way Luce. You know that whatever is going on between us right now won't matter in the end. In my mind, you're still my friend... my best friend."

"Am I?" she asked turning to face him. She still didn't look completely convinced, "Now you have your Ranger team and this new girl in your life, and she really seems to like you too. I just... I just don't want things to change. I don't want to feel like I have to compete with them, or that I'm not as important to you anymore."

The Red Ranger stepped forward and surprised her by putting his arms around her in a comforting hug, "Lucy, you've always been there for me and helped me in so many ways. Our friendship will always be a top priority to me and nothing will ever change that."

Lucy gave a relieved smile and rested her cheek against his chest while returning the hug. It felt good to get that all out in the open. While it was indeed true, there was still a part of her that wasn't quite sure how she felt either... that maybe she might have still been holding back a little bit about being jealous... particularly of Christina. For now, she decided to let that be and just enjoy the reconciliation with her closest friend. As they stood there, Lucy shifted slightly in his arms, "Martin? You do know I'm all sweaty and gross still, right?"

"Does it really look like that bothers me?" he smiled before giving her a little kiss on the forehead. The two shared a quiet lingering smile before Martin's Nova morpher sounded. It was General Caldwell.

"Captain? Are you there?"

Martin let go of Lucy and spoke into his wrist morpher, "Sterling here. What's wrong General?"

"I need you and Dr. Beckett to report to me immediately. We have a major situation on our hands."

Lucy gave a worried look before Martin asked, "Another Xeno attack, sir?"

Caldwell's voice became even more grave, "A Xeno strike carrier has gotten through our defense line. It's launching a massive air and ground assault on Dubai. There's no time to waste!"

"Erik..." Martin's blood ran cold and his stomach dropped as he glanced to Lucy and then to the tall central command tower, lighting up the evening skies, "I... I understand General. I'm on my way."

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **The name of the enemy Strigon fighter planes were derived from the _Strigoi_ (or vampires) of Romanian mythology. The vehicles here also bear some resemblance to the modern Russian fighter jet known as the _Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker._**


	31. Desert Storm

**Mission 13: Part 3  
**

As the light of the transporter beam faded, Martin found himself on the deck of a large US aircraft carrier. Amid the bustle and activity of the flight deck, he could see the skies were dark and the waters of the Persian Gulf were churning and choppy. Naval deck crews scrambled about servicing some fighter planes and doing checks on the undersides of the aircraft. After taking a look around he turned and spotted a sharp-eyed middle aged man in a flight suit approach him. As he neared, Martin saw the man's badge showed him to be Colonel in the US Air Force so he saluted. "Captain Martin Sterling, US Air Force, reporting for duty, sir."

The Colonel returned the salute and nodded with a smile, "At ease Captain. Welcome aboard the Endeavor. I'm Col. Joshua Hale. Follow me."

The two men walked off the flight deck and down a stairwell to go below decks to the pilots' ready rooms. The older Colonel led the way and made idle conversation, "We were told that the Xenos have a jamming field around Dubai making it impossible for UNAF reinforcements to get through by teleporter."

"Yes sir," Martin answered, "I insisted on trying to rejoin my team so General Caldwell suggested I do the next best thing."

Hale nodded, "Well, it'll be a special honor to have a real life Ranger join my fighter squadron. I think you'll like the Red Griffins. Have you flown any combat sorties?"

"No sir. Not officially. I've logged many flight hours flying Kestral and Pegasus fighters but I'm eager to prove myself."

"Glad to hear it Captain," Hale said as they walked into the pilots' locker room, "You can suit up here. We won't waste time so a Tactics briefing will be in an hour. The sooner we can launch and retake Dubai, the better. Oh, and be sure to look presentable. This ship's commander, Captain Monroe will also be sitting in on this meeting."

"Yes sir. Understood," Martin nodded before he was left alone in the room. He took a deep breath and opened one of the spare lockers where a flight suit and a pilot's helmet hung on the rack.

"Erik... everyone... just hang on a little longer. I'll be there soon."

* * *

The booming sounds of explosions echoed across the city of Dubai as the monorail sped back into the city proper. From their elevated track, the Nova Rangers watched as people on the city streets fled in panic while cars and trucks tried to make their own desperate escape from the invading alien forces. Up above, fire rained from the night skies as Xeno Strigons screamed by overhead while the ominous wail of the enemy dropships named Banshees descended from the skies. Within the train car, the Rangers morphed and prepared for the worst as they continued further down the tracks.

"This is bad," Ella remarked as she fiddled with her morpher, "I can't get a signal and reach Martin. All I'm getting is static!"

Erin nodded and gave a grim look to Erik, "I haven't had much luck either. I got a short garbled message out to Atlantis Base, but my signal faded. My guess is that enemy carrier is jamming all of our signals. The only way we're going to call in more reinforcements is by knocking that thing out of the skies."

"And the UAE air forces have been wiped out already. Damn!" Erik growled as he thought furiously about their next move.

Bharata put a hand on the blaster pistol at his side, "What are your orders, sir?"

As the monorail slowed, Erik took one more look at the chaos outside before turning to the team, "Okay everyone. We gather as many civilians as we can on this train and get them to safety within the Palm Island base."

The others nodded in agreement and charged out of the train car as it came to a stop. They rushed out and entered a plaza while an enemy airstrike hit an office building above. Concrete and glass rained down in a deadly hail forcing the Rangers to halt and momentarily take cover. When they looked up again, they found themselves at the entrance of a large building that stretched a great distance lengthwise before seeing something else very unusual. Panicked civilians and tourists came pouring out of the place wearing winter coats and cold weather clothes.

"What the heck?" Bharata exclaimed while glancing at a sensor inside his helmet, "What's with the coats? It's still like 95 degrees out here."

An explosion burst from the far side of the building as Erin turned and glanced at a sign, "Huh… World's Longest Indoor Ski Slopes. Go figure."

"Let's get a move on people! There might be wounded in there!" Erik called as he led the Rangers inside.

After barging past the main lobby and atrium, the Rangers found themselves in a colossal room with snow on the ground and chilled air swirling about. More frightened civilians came running toward them and Ella pointed them for the exit, "Everyone, board the train waiting outside! We're going to get you folks to safety!"

Amid the clamor and commotion, the Rangers came across a mixed platoon of Eidolon soldiers and battle drones stumbling down a snowy incline trying to shoot the place up and capture civilians. Both forces skidded to a halt in surprise before Erik fumbled for his blaster, "Look out!"

The Xenos opened fire and the Rangers dove away, scrambling for cover while firing back at the approaching enemy. As the four huddled up behind the base of a ski lift, they found themselves pinned down by the enemy.

"They're going to flank us!" Ella called in desperation while she and Bharata fired a few blaster shots in reply, "What's the plan?"

"Do we focus on the enemy or do clear out the civies?" Bharata shouted as he spotted a few injured tourists straggling behind and trying to escape.

Another blast rocked the building adding an extra danger that the structure might start collapsing around them in some spots. Erik watched in a daze as Erin crouched beside him, shouting her own questions amid the confusion and din of battle, "Erik! Hey! This place might cave in. What's the plan?"

Erik took several breaths while feeling very overwhelmed. So many things were happening at once and everyone was shouting something different in his face. In a typical battlefield situation, Erik was used to focusing more on helping the injured while others would cover him or worry about the tactics and environment. Now he was thrust into an unprecedented large scale battle and found himself struggling to come up with a plan. He had led the team here and now the situation was devolving all around them. Erik's protective instincts as a father and a medic were kicking in and he began to feel a twinge of fear about making the wrong call or issuing orders that would get his teammates hurt, or even worse… killed.

Erin saw him hesitate and decided to try something different. She put a steadying hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye through their visors, "Sir, we don't have much time. Maybe we should tackle these problems in order?"

Erik looked to Erin and blinked a moment before nodding slowly in gratitude. That moment's pause and gesture of reassurance went a long way toward getting his brain back into gear. The Blue Ranger surveyed the battlefield and called the team together with a loud voice, "Okay, listen up squad! We're going to make a break for those civilians and retreat with them. Erin and Ella, you two cover us. Once Bara and I get to the tourists, we'll fall back and get the hell out of here! Ready Bara?"

The Green Ranger drew his vibro blade and gave a thumbs up while Ella took Erik's blaster to dual wield, "We're with you Erik!"

The Blue Ranger gave another nod to Erin before bursting from cover to draw the attention of the enemy attackers. Both male Rangers charged across the slippery snow dodging enemy blaster fire and using the shield mode of their morphers while Erin and Ella did their best to cover them. Upon reaching the last group of pinned civilians, Bharata held his shield and blade up to deflect enemy fire while Erik bent down to examine a female skier whose leg had been lightly injured by shrapnel from an explosion. The civilians could only gape in fear and awe, "Are we going to die here?"

From the sound of their accent, he guessed they were probably Danish or maybe from somewhere in northern Germany.

"Not if I can help it," Erik said while quickly adjusting the leg of the injured skier. She looked to be a young blonde woman who whimpered and moaned a few more words in Danish. Erik smiled and scooped her up in his arms, before speaking a few reassuring words back in German, hoping she'd recognize a few words in the similar tongue, "Hang on. I'll get you to safety and fix your leg."

He turned to the civilians and nodded before radioing his team, "Rangers! Let's fall back and get to the train!"

"Music to my ears," Erin called as she gunned down a battle droid and activated her shield, "Let's go Ella!"

The Pink Ranger followed suit and continued to fall back behind Erin and Bharata while continuing to fire the two guns in her hands. Turning her aim upward, she fired at a raised ski lift cable causing one of the heavy metal carts to come crashing down on some of the alien attackers. As the Rangers and civilians made their escape from the indoor ski slopes, Erin turned to her female comrade with a laugh, "Nice shooting there Rambo. You almost looked like you were having too much fun there."

Ella gave her a mild elbow in reply while the Rangers rushed out of the building and back across the plaza toward the waiting monorail. They could see it was already packed with frightened people. As the Rangers directed the last of the tourists onto the platform, they were halted by a powerful barrage of enemy fire which sawed through the sidewalk and sprayed a cloud of concrete and gravel all over them.

The Rangers looked over to see a fresh wave of Xenos approaching led by what looked to be a fearsome walking tank of a commander. Decimus stomped forward and blew out a menacing jet of flames from his shoulder mounted flamethrower before turning his wrists and launching a rocket at Nova Squad. The projectile whistled by and struck a train equipment shed blowing it to pieces.

"Whoah..." Bharata gulped in dread while Decimus reloaded his chain gun.

"Get to the train!" Erik shouted as he led the rest of the civilians to safety while carrying the injured woman.

Erin and Ella fired a few blaster shots at Decimus only to see the bolts deflect harmlessly off his heavy armor. Ella turned and started to run while giving a huff, "If only we could call Dr. Beckett. The Prism Cannon would come in pretty handy about now."

Decimus took aim and fired another rocket from his shoulder launcher but Bharata moved to cover the girls with his force shield. The Green Ranger staggered as the projectile struck the shield and exploded, throwing him hard to the turf. From his position on the other end of the battle line, Taldyr watched in curiosity as the Green Nova Ranger tumbled to the ground in a heap before his two female comrades turned and rushed over to help him back up. The Ranger was still stunned, but his fellow Rangers didn't leave him behind either.

The Xeno soldier couldn't quite understand why the Ranger would put himself in harm's way to shield his allies in their retreat, or why the others didn't abandon him either. Helping to protect comrades and taking selfless actions for one another were all but unheard of in the alien ranks. Of course they would work and maneuver together when fighting an enemy, but regard for the safety of other comrades in the unit was always thought of as meaningless. If an Eidolon or drone was stupid or careless enough to get killed, then so be it.

His attention was brought back to focus as his commander gave a digitized grunt and turned away in anger after seeing the Rangers escape on the monorail with a trainload of civilians. "They got away! Taldyr, take a unit and secure this area. We'll keep searching for those Terran super-weapons and tear this whole city apart if we have to."

"Yes Commander," Taldyr replied with a reluctant nod before gathering a team together and getting back to work.

* * *

As the monorail made its escape from the growing fires and carnage of the city, the escaping civilians watched as alien fighters continued to buzz around the skyscrapers of Dubai while the enemy carrier loomed in the distance. Women huddled on the benches with frightened children while several other men slumped over with shell-shocked looks on their scraped, soot covered faces. Inside the packed train, Erik removed his Ranger helmet and pulled a First-Aid kit from a train compartment and began to do some improvised triage on hurt civilians.

For now, they'd be safe and he hoped that he could get these people to the Palm Islands base for protection. He could gather his thoughts again and put his skills to work focusing on something he was good at: treating wounded people. As they continued to speed along, the other Rangers watched in awe as Erik seemed to come into his own barking out orders on how to use and distribute their medical supplies. While the other Rangers hurried to assist, Erik cast a quick look over to Erin who knelt down beside him and helped to steady the bloody leg of the Danish girl they saved. While Erik cleaned the wound and bandaged it, he spoke quietly, "Erin, about what happened back there at the slopes… thank you."

The Yellow Rangers smiled and nodded as the train sped over the beaches, "Just doing my job, sir. Don't mention it."

Giving one more tired nod, Erik got another bandage and ointment before moving to help a man who had been burned in the arm from an explosion, "Erin, keep trying to contact Atlantis Base. When we get back to the zord hangers, you can give me a status report then."

The Yellow Ranger grimaced as she watched the city continuing to be invaded, "You don't think the Xenos know about the Mecha-zords… do you? That this might be the reason they're here?"

"First things first," Erik replied echoing her words, "We'll handle these problems one thing at a time."

* * *

Back on the USS _Endeavor_ , Martin sat in a large briefing room with the commanders of several other fighter squadrons and marine units. At the head of the room, the ship's commander Captain Monroe, went over the plan while standing in front of a display screen. He removed his cap from his short brown and gray hair while fixing his blue eyes on the room, "At eighteen hundred local, a Xeno strike carrier broke through our planet's defense line and launched a direct attack on the city of Dubai. The UAE defenses were caught off guard and overrun leaving the city at the enemy's mercy. The UNAF has a top secret research facility just off the coast and it's critical that we not let the Xenos near the base. We've been tasked with launching a direct counterattack on the enemy forces to retake control of the city."

Captain Monroe paced the room as the display changed to a closer view of the region, "The Endeavor will launch a wing of fighters to retake the skies over Dubai and knock out the enemy carrier there. The Xeno ship has a jamming field around the area making it difficult to communicate or transport help into the city. Destroying that signal tower on their ship will be the first priority of the pilots flying our heavy Firebirds. Kestral and Pegasus fighter squadrons will assist in the attack while providing air cover for our troop transports close behind. That second wave will come in low and work to recapture points on the ground. Good luck gentlemen. We've got a lot of people counting on us. Dismissed."

As the meeting adjourned, Martin rose and began to head toward the hangers to meet with his flight team. He stopped when he ran into Captain Jeff Austin of the STARs and the two men exchanged a surprised look. "Jeff… I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I could say the same Captain Sterling," Jeff smirked, "I thought you'd be with your Ranger team, not here in a flight suit."

"My team is trapped behind enemy lines in Dubai," Martin answered as a dark shadow crossed his face, "This was the most direct way I could get there to help them."

Jeff nodded with a look of understanding while keeping his cool expression, "Well, don't sweat it. My team will flush out the Xenos and pull Nova Squad's ass out of the fire again. You sky jockeys just make sure you keep those Xeno fighters off of us, okay?"

"Calling in your favor already huh?" Martin snorted, "I make sure your sorry ass doesn't get blown out of the sky and we'll call it even."

Austin gave a sardonic chuckle before the two men shook hands firmly on it, "I'll hold you to that, sir. Happy hunting."

"You too. Good luck out there Captain," Martin replied before heading out the door into the flight hatch. There was a lot left to do and his mind was fixed on worrying about the safety of his squad. The sooner they could launch off the aircraft carrier, the better.

* * *

After returning to the relative safety of the underground Palm Island facility, the small crowd of evacuated civilians were ushered off the monorail and taken to some secure quarters deeper within the base. The tired Nova Rangers were met with a visibly irritated base commander who berated Erik for bringing a crowd of civilians into a secret restricted area, but he relented somewhat when the team pointed out the unusual circumstances. If they didn't get captured or killed by the aliens, where else were the people supposed to go?

Night had set in over the land and the fires from the city continued to glow, punctuated by the occasional boom of an explosion in the distance. From the safety of their bunker leading down into the base, the Rangers took some time to breathe and decompress from the harrowing events of the day. They watched as the Xenos continued to hover and move around the city, apparently searching for something. As the night wore on, the Rangers began to wonder if there was some truth to Erin's speculation after all… that they were looking for the Mecha-zords.

While Ella went to work with Dr. Rizal on his reactor, Erik leaned against the entrance of the Palm Island bunker keeping watch over the city while holding a rifle slung behind his shoulder. The heat of the day had cooled and the moment of relative quiet was welcome while he felt a breeze on his cheek and listened to the waves of the water around him. The Blue Ranger had been so lost in thought, he didn't even hear Bharata and Erin approach.

"Erik, there you are. What are you doing out here?" Erin asked as she carried a small knapsack with her.

He shrugged, "Just thought I'd stand guard for a while. Besides, I figured I'd get some air and clear my head."

"Why don't you clear your head by getting some rest, sir?" Bharata asked while giving his friend a light clap on the shoulder, "Take a break. I'll stand watch for a few hours."

The Blue Ranger grimaced in reluctance before Erin tugged his arm gently, "Come on Dobermann. If you're not going to sleep, do you want to grab a bite to eat?"

She opened up her knapsack and tossed Bharata a package of crackers to snack on while Erik sighed and relented, following her back into one of the quieter corners of the cave bunker that lead into the base.

As they sat down and rested against the cave wall, Erin pulled out a water canteen and large can of barbecue beans, then opened it. She produced two spoons and handed the can off to Erik so they could share. "Sorry. It's not as good as our meal yesterday night, but this was the best I could scrounge up. You'd think in this modern day in age, most of our field rations still wouldn't taste like shit, right?"

Erik smiled and took a bite of the food before handing the can back to Erin, "That's okay. You've done more than enough today. To be honest, I'm glad I picked you as my second in command. You've really done a lot to help me."

"I can't say I really envy your position," Erin said while taking a bite of the food, "I don't think any of us really expected this mission to go to hell in a hand-basket so fast. How are you holding up?"

"Okay I guess," Erik said while taking back the can of beans, "I just keep thinking about earlier today when we were pinned down in that indoor ski slope, you know? Honestly, I kinda froze up back there and I keep beating myself up about it. Caldwell and Martin put a lot of trust in me here and I didn't want to screw up and let them down. The last thing I wanted was to be responsible for making a bad call and getting one of you guys hurt today... and I very well could have."

Erin nodded quietly, "But you didn't... and I guess that makes a lot of sense, given your job and your life experience."

The Blue Ranger raised a confused eyebrow before Erin continued, "It's in your nature to be concerned about others and look after them. You're a medic and a father to a little girl too. I can imagine you hate the thought of being responsible for the injury or death of another if you can avoid, right?"

Erik grimaced and turned the spoon over in his hands, "You know, when you and Ella came into my room arguing a few days ago, something you girls said got me to thinking. It made me think of being a father and the way I am with Sarah... and it made me think of the way I can be toward the rest of our squad sometimes. Part of the reason is because I don't want to be like my father was to me."

Erin remained quiet as Erik went on, "Growing up, my father wasn't around very often and I rarely saw him or talked to him at all. Hell, even today I can't say I know the guy really well but I'd always be wondering about him. Does he wonder abut me too? Is he proud of me? Does he even care? When Martin put me in charge of the squad, I began to think about a lot of those things and it made me think of my dad again too."

"You still love him, don't you?" Erin asked as she handed him the can of food.

"I guess I'd have good reason to hate my father… but I don't," Erik sighed leaning back on the wall and taking a bite of beans, "The thing I'm most worried about right now, is letting this team down and letting Sarah down too... the people I'm responsible for protecting above all else."

Erin smiled gently, "You shouldn't worry or doubt yourself too much Erik. You're a good friend and a good father too. I'm also sure you wouldn't have been chosen to lead the team here if Martin didn't think you were a good Ranger too. It actually reminds me of something he said about leadership when he and I spoke to Dr. Beckett a while back. He said that when you're in command, you can't second guess yourself too much. If you blame yourself for every little thing and let it get to you, that's when you lose your focus and make bad decisions which get people killed."

Erik handed her back the can and nodded in gratitude, "Thanks Erin… for everything. You've given me a lot to think about tonight."

Their warm moment of friendship was suddenly cut short as Bharata called from the lip of the bunker, "Uh guys? I think we've got a problem… a big problem!"

The Blue and Yellow Rangers hurried to their feet and scrambled up to join him to where he pointed out in the distance. To their horror, the three Rangers stared in awe as a large humanoid figure was lowered from the base of the small Xeno strike carrier. The automaton looked to be some sort of giant robot and appeared to be roughly the size of a small skyscraper. Although it was still night, the dark outline and menacing visage of the war machine could be clearly made out in the bright light of the fires below.

"Those aren't one of those titans Caldwell talked about… is it?" Bharata asked with a gaping mouth.

Erik blinked a few times trying to regain the feeling in his trembling legs, "If it is… we'd better hope that Dr. Rizal can get those Mecha-zords up and running really fast."


	32. Operation OverZord

**Mission 13: Part 4  
**

The night hours dragged on as a tense atmosphere gripped the Palm Islands research base. In the nearby city, the giant Xeno battle droid stomped about, occasionally wrecking buildings and digging into the ground so that scans could be taken by the alien carrier above. Despite having started at the other end of the city, the titan began making its way closer toward the coastline in its relentless search. In the meantime, the Rangers took turns keeping watch while the others tried to get some sleep. Down below, the other lab techs and engineers redoubled their efforts in a feverish pitch to get the Mecha-zords up and running.

As dawn began to break over the golden sand dunes to the east, a pink and red glow lit up the skies highlighting the Xeno titan's menacing silhouette while it lumbered toward the beach and continued with its search. Erik Dobermann mumbled as he was shaken awake and looked up to see Ella kneeling beside him.

"Erik… hey, wake up. There's trouble."

The Blue Ranger cracked open his bleary eyes and rubbed his face before rising to his feet off the cots in one of the base hallways. "What's wrong Ella?"

She gestured for him to be quiet and listen as they heard soft rumbling and felt slight rhythmic vibrations. "The titan… it's getting closer to the base. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before it reaches here."

Erik stood filled with feelings of weariness, fear, and impatience at the whole scenario. Finally, he stopped and looked to the Pink Ranger, "Status on the Mecha-zord? Any luck?"

Ella grimaced, "The new reactor core was installed overnight. Dr. Rizal's powering it and running some tests, but things are still up in the air."

Erik took a deep breath and fought down his growing feeling of dread, "If that titan gets any closer, we're going to make ready to launch the zords… ready or not."

"Are you serious?" Ella asked in surprise.

"We won't have much else of a choice. Either we stand and fight here or we let the enemy tear the base apart and destroy everything and everyone inside."

He hated sounding so grim and blunt about it, but it was the truth. Right now, he had to be decisive and give some hope to the others that they still had a chance. If that meant taking the initiative and starting a battle on their own terms, then so be it. He gave a serious nod and watched while Ella hurried off to tell the others. He could only hope he was making the right call here.

* * *

Soon enough, the four Rangers were situated within the central cockpit of the colossal central war machine. As they strapped in and tried to acquaint themselves with the controls, they listened to last minute instructions from Dr. Rizal while the power gauges of their machines continued to charge up.

"The controls were designed to be intuitive and simple, but you still have to work together and operate in concert," the doctor explained, "You're only going to be at 75% power so you'll have to take it easy and not overtax the new reactor core. We're not even sure how strong and reliable it's going to be in this kind of situation."

"Understood Doctor," Erik replied as he took the lead controls. "What do we do to get bigger?"

"The zords will automatically link up on your command so all you need to worry about is bringing the fight to that giant robot out there."

At that, the sounds of the enemy's footsteps rumbled and echoed as it got even closer. Erik looked to his team and tried to give an encouraging smile, "Come on everyone. This going to be fun. How many people get to play rock em sock em robots with giant war machines in the first place?"

The others exchanged a tense smile before they heard Rizals' voice, "Stand by Rangers. Preparing to launch."

The four friends watched in awe as the colossal platforms rose up and the Mecha-zords were carried to an upper launch bay above. Bright light from the rising sun could be seen at the end of the tunnel as the Rangers gripped tight and felt their primary zord fire its thrusters and quickly accelerate down the long tunnel. Up above on the Palm Islands, three large bunkers opened up from the sands and connected to the roads. Moments later, the three zords emerged and sped down the road to the central juncture of the islands. As the tank zord and amphibious armored zord took up formations ahead of the larger plane, they opened fire on the Xeno titan as it froze in surprise.

A barrage of rockets and heavy cannons slammed into the titan and blinded it as the three giant zords raced past and fused together on the island road. With the tank zords connected as the legs, the large plane zord fired secondary hover jets and raised itself up converting into the torso and arms of a larger Mecha-zord. In this intermediary mode, the new Nova Megazord skidded to a halt and turned to face its titanic enemy in the light of the dawn. It combined vehicles of the land, air, and sea in a unique fusion to show off its versatility.

"All right! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Bharata cheered as the Nova Megazord came to bear on the giant Xeno intruder.

Erin looked out across the skies of the city and watched as the enemy carrier changed its bearing and directed its fighters on a new attack route. "Erik, we've gotta hurry up and take down that titan. If those Strigons start pummeling us, we won't have a prayer."

The Blue Ranger took a calming breath and nodded, "Okay… what have we got in terms of weapon systems here?"

Ella quickly keyed in a few computer commands and brought up the display, "We've got a primary gattling gun and a bank of missile pods, but we're already short of ammo."

"We just loaded enough ordinance for some test firings… not for a real battle situation," Dr. Rizal's apologetic voice came in over the radio.

Erik grimaced and drove the Megazord forward, "Then we'll just have to make every shot count. Until then, we'll do things the old fashioned way."

The surprised Xeno titan reeled as the Nova Megazord threw a wide haymaker punch and slammed its fist into the enemy's head. The four Rangers braced themselves and gasped at the powerful kinetic movement of their giant robot and moved to throw another punch. This time, the enemy titan was ready and blocked the blow with its own in a shower of metal and sparks. While the two giant robots tangled with each other in a fierce grapple, the approaching alien fighter planes suddenly veered away and charged direction as a new threat approached from the waters to the north.

Amid the grapple, Bharata scanned the horizon and saw a large cloud of new aircraft approaching over the waters with the light of the sun. Numerous green allied blips appeared on their radars and Bharata gave a laugh, "UNAF fighters! Here comes the cavalry!"

The Rangers gave another cheer as they heard the familiar voice of their captain come in over the radio directly to their cockpit, "Is this a private party or can anyone join in?"

"Martin! Thank God you're here!" Erik gasped with a wide smile, "By all means, cut in."

The Red Ranger sent one more transmission from the cockpit of his Pegasus fighter as he and his flight team roared toward the city, "Hang in there guys, you're doing just fine. Just stay upright and focus on taking down that titan. We'll keep the enemy aircraft off of you."

As the titan and Megazord began to struggle again and duke it out on the coastline, the UNAF fighter squadrons grouped up into a menacing attack formation and increased their speed. Leading the way was Col. Hale and his squadron of Pegasus fighters, "Griffin One to Endeavor, making final approach on Burj Khalifa. Tally bandits and the enemy carrier."

"Roger that Lead, you are clear to engage and destroy," came the reply.

Martin listened closely as his flight leader gave orders over the radio, "All right. Firebirds, focus on knocking out the Xeno jamming signals. Pegasus and Kestrals, clear the way and keep the enemy fighters off our transports."

As the UNAF air forces soared into the airspace of Dubai, they were met with a swarm of enemy Strigons and fire from the Xeno carrier. The UN fighters broke formations, juking and rolling clear while replying with their own missile volleys. As the skies over Dubai lit up with gunfire, explosions, and smoke trails of missiles, Martin jerked his joystick and made an evasive maneuver through the aerial melee. In the western skies of the city, the heavily armed delta wing Firebirds made a pass on the enemy carrier. Despite the blistering attack, the carrier's shields buckled but held around its jamming tower.

Meanwhile, the allied transports angled low and descended toward the streets of the embattled city while the other fighters covered them. Martin maneuvered his Pegasus into a Split-S maneuver to rejoin the battle and get an angle on an enemy Strigon. He wanted to try and radio his team again, but things were too chaotic up here not to pay attention. He angled in and followed the evasive turns of the Strigon, firing bursts of cannon fire to pick away at the enemy's shields. As the targeting sensors formed a red block around the Xeno fighter, Martin zeroed in and pulled the trigger for an air to air missile. "Locked on target! Fox-2!"

The heatseeker missile sailed away and caught the Strigon's tail as it tried to dive clear. The Xeno fighter erupted into a fireball and a cloud of flaming shrapnel spiraled down toward the desert sands below.

"Good kill Griffin Five!" his wingman called over the radio as he swooped in to join Martin, "Just don't get cocky now."

For his first air-to-air kill, that was a pretty big deal, but given the hairy situation, his wingman was right. Celebrations could be had later... if they even survived at all.

* * *

Meanwhile, down below the Nova Rangers gave shouts of fear and surprise as the enemy titan momentarily pushed the Megazord's guard down and slammed it with a sweeping backhand knuckle. The zords reeled and the Rangers were jostled about while trying to keep their robot balanced.

The two combatants exchanged a few punches before the Megazord was slammed again.

"Now that was a cheap shot," Erik growled as he righted the Megazord and had it take a knee, "Bara, you wanna give them one right back?"

"I thought you'd never ask," the Green Ranger smiled as he manned the weapons controls and locked on with the zord's gattling gun.

Having sensed a momentary advantage, the Xeno titan moved forward to attack and brought one of its legs around in a vicious kick. To its surprise, the titan's kick was halted as the Nova Megazord turned its wrist and deployed a large Vulcan cannon which began to spin rapidly and fire a withering stream of superheated blaster fire. A cloud of fire and sparks erupted from the enemy titan as its left shin was partially sheered off and severely damaged.

"Nice shooting Bara!" Erin called as the Xeno giant fell to its knees and the Megazord's cannon ran out of ammo. "Let's keep up the pressure!"

The Rangers pushed forward to try and exploit the swing in momentum, but they were surprised as the titan had one more trick up its sleeve. The injured titan threw itself forward and tackled the Megazord back into the water to halt its momentum. As both robots crashed into the shallow coastal waters, they continued to struggle and Rizal's voice came in with a warning.

"Rangers, the reactor core is starting to destabilize and power levels are beginning to fall. You have to finish this fight soon!"

"He's right," Ella added, "We've already taken some damage and shouldn't push it either."

Erik growled and pumped his controls as the enemy titan rolled over on them and began to put a crushing stranglehold on the Megazord in the water. Sparks erupted in the cockpit while secondary systems began to falter. "We've got to break free first... but we're losing power to our arms!"

"Damn! Not good!" Erin shouted as she furiously tried to route emergency power in response but to little avail. They were only buying themselves a little more time as the enemy titan kept driving the Nova Megazord's head down into the turf. Just then, the four heard Martin's voice over the radio, "Hang on Rangers! Fox-3!"

In an instant, Martin's fighter dove from the air and unloaded a salvo of four reserve missiles from its underside before rolling past and ascending quickly back into the skies. The four radar guided missiles slammed into the titan's head and knocked it off balance giving the Megazord just enough of a chance to recover to its feet. As the smoke and flames cleared from Martin's airstrike, the Rangers saw that the robotic head of the Xeno titan had been mangled and badly damaged. Erin looked to Erik, "What now boss?"

"Let's finish this. Bara? Ella?"

The two pulled up the Megazord's missile boxes and targeted the head of the enemy titan for a final strike. Ella punched in a few keys and gave a thumbs up, "Locked and loaded."

Erik nodded and pulled the trigger on a nearby weapons control, "Fire!"

The Nova Megazord reared back as two large boxes extended from its shoulders and fired a barrage of spiraling missile pods at their target. The Xeno titan didn't have a prayer as the missiles exploded over it and shredded its upper torso apart in a fiery cloud of sparks and shrapnel. Erik fell back in his seat and gave a relieved sigh as the other Rangers erupted into euphoric cheers and high fives.

While the Megazord powered down, the smoldering remains of the giant headless titan collapsed onto the beaches.

* * *

While the battle raged below, two more Firebirds were shot down by the Xeno carrier's point defense guns. The leader of the lighter Kestral interceptors growled as he watched the sight and took a glancing hit from some enemy fire, "Should we give some help with that carrier Colonel? They're getting chewed up over there."

"Negative, keep on those fighters. Our landing troops below need every minute we can spare them," the Colonel replied.

Elsewhere, Martin's own wingman turned to see another Strigon suddenly outmaneuver him and sneak up on Martin from behind. "Bandit on your six Captain! He's turning inside of me! I can't get a clear line!"

Martin turned in fear as he saw the Strigon tail him and fire its guns. He juked and weaved in evasive arcs trying to avoid the energy bolts but a few clipped his rear shields and jolted him violently. As he saw warning lights signal minor damage to the rear and an enemy missile lock, the Red Ranger fired off a cloud of chaff from behind to momentarily blind the Strigon before cutting his speed and performing a desperate aileron roll over the Xeno's left shoulder. The blinded Strigon pilot stared in shock from the unexpected counter-maneuver and saw his prey now chasing him. Before the alien pilot could react, the Pegasus unloaded a stream of cannon fire which punched through the Xeno's shields and shredded its fuselage apart.

Martin gasped in relief and angled way as the Strigon's canopy section was shorn off and its ravaged wings spiraled away in a flaming trail. "Splash two."

"Not bad," his wingman radioed in with relief, "Keep this up and you'll make ace status in no time."

"I could care less. I just want to live through this furball," Martin answered as he and his teammate circled back around. As they looped around the city's colossal tower Burj Khalifa, they saw a cloud of fire erupt from the enemy carrier followed by a cheer over the radio. Col. Hale called out, "Griffin One to all allied fighters, the shields and jamming tower of the enemy carrier are down!"

As Martin soared back into the thick of the aerial dogfight, he could see the enemy Strigons were beginning to break formation and run at seeing their titan go down and their carrier come under heavy fire. His wingman matched speed on the right, "How are you on ammo, Captain?"

"I've still got a couple missiles left," Martin answered as they rejoined their squadron in a high holding pattern to regroup.

Col. Hale's voice came in over the comm, "Listen up Griffins, that Xeno carrier is wounded and I want to try to knock that turkey out of the skies. Anyone who's still packing ordinance is with me on this next attack run."

Several Griffin pilots voiced an affirmative as they circled into formation with the Colonel and prepared for a diving attack. When the signal was given, six fighters rolled into a cascading dive and went full throttle to strike at the Xeno carrier's bridge from above. The Pegasus fighters put all shields forward to absorb the flak and defensive fire from the carrier as they made their approach. Despite taking a few glancing hits which rattled the plane, Martin held the plane steady and roared forward at full speed. Off his left wing, the shields of one of his unlucky allies gave out and the Pegasus erupted into a cloud of flames and shrapnel. As the planes finally got into range, their targeting brackets all went red with missile locks and the Colonel gave a call, "Give em hell Griffins!"

The five fighters unloaded all their weapons on the carrier and veered from side to side, splitting off in evasive maneuvers. The rain of missiles trailed off and all struck the exposed bridge of the alien carrier causing massive damage and a loss of flight control. Secondary explosions began to tear through the small carrier's hull and black smoke billowed from its now gaping wounds.

As the Griffins wove through the cloud of smoke, fire, and shrapnel, Martin rolled his plane clear and gave an uncharacteristically loud whoop of joy, "Yeeeehaw!"

Over the comms, several other whoops and cheers of the UNAF fighter squadrons could be heard while Col. Hale radioed his flight with a laugh, "You know that carrier still only counts as one kill boys."

The Red Ranger leveled his fighter off and circled into formation with his Griffin flight team as they made a flyover the resting Nova Megazord. Despite the plumes of smoke still rising from the contested city of Dubai, the Nova Megazord turned in the sunlight and gave a thumbs up to the fighters as they peeled off and gave chase to the remains of the fleeing alien Strigons.

* * *

Down below on the streets of the city, the Xeno Machina infantry was beginning to lose cohesion. After seeing their carrier go down and their titan fall to the new Megazord, it was looking like the tide was turning against them. Now that their carrier's jamming signals were destroyed, fresh squads of UNAF troops were rapidly being teleported into the city to back up the STARs and other landing forces. Amid a storm of laser fire, a barricade was destroyed by a Terran bazooka and several Eidolons went hurtling backwards in all directions.

Taldyr looked in concern toward their commander and he gripped his blaster spear, "Commander, we have to leave this place. We are exposed here and the Terrans are going to surround us soon. We must escape in some of our transports."

Decimus snarled in fury, not only in losing the battle but in also failing his mission objectives. They had not expected the Megazord to be ready yet and they didn't count on such a powerful counterattack from the Terran air forces. As much as he hated to admit it, his subordinate was right. The large mechanized warrior smashed his great iron fist into the side of a building before lumbering off, "Back to the transports. We'll let the Terrans have this miserable city back. I promise we will make them pay dearly for this."

By now, UN forces were pushing the enemy back on every street of the city. Another explosion rocked the ground nearby and Taldyr turned to see a group of Terran soldiers in dark colored gear leading an advance. The STAR troopers laid down a withering hail of fire while Captain Austin waved the others on, "Lets go! Let's go! Keep pushing!"

Taldyr growled and helped to pick up a fellow clone trooper who had been wounded. The soldier turned to stare at him in shock, "Sir? What are you doing?"

"We're getting out of here," Taldyr replied sourly as his unit fell back to their transport ships in a fighting retreat against a company of UNAF marines. "That includes you too."

The wounded trooper continued to stare in wonder as Taldyr mimicked the actions of the Rangers from before and got his team back to the safety of their escape ships. In no time, the Xeno transports were up in the air and took off in retreat from Dubai. Though they had raved the city, they had been unsuccessful in their mission to find and destroy the humans' zords. For now, they took some relief that they could escape unharmed while the majority of UNAF fighters were distracted or short of ammunition. The words of Decimus had been ominous and Taldyr could only wonder what that might mean in the future… or if he'd even see those Nova Rangers again.

* * *

Back on the beaches, the Nova Megazord proudly stood guard over the recaptured city of Dubai. Erin and Ella had seemingly forgotten about their quarrels from the past few days and now exchanged a hug with each other to celebrate their victory while laughing along with Bharata as he did a little dance in his seat to add to the festive atmosphere. After the harrowing events of these past few days, Erik took another relieved breath admiring the welcoming light of the sun and the contrails of the UNAF planes in the blue skies above.

A voice crackled in over the radio and the Rangers stopped when they heard General Caldwell's voice, "Rangers… we're picking you up on sensors again… is that…"

"The Mecha-zord? Yes sir… yes it is," Erin laughed as she gave a thumbs up to Erik.

"Reports are coming in that the Xenos have been routed," Erik added, "Their carrier was destroyed and we used the zords to take out one of those titans."

"Excellent work everyone. Just stay put until the recovery crews come," Caldwell replied, "Oh, and Lieutenant Dobermann?"

"Yes General?"

The Rangers could almost hear the smile in the older man's voice, "Well done on your first command."

Erik could only laugh again as Ella tousled his hair and gave him a hug before the others joined in on another round of celebratory cheers.

* * *

A few days after returning from the battle of Dubai, Erik sat in his quarters working on an official mission report. For now, the Megazord was being moved to a new location and serviced for future battles. Meanwhile, efforts were being made to start rebuilding Dubai and helping the people who had been hurt or killed in the attack. As he continued to write at his desk, Erik kept his computer screen up on a video chat call with his daughter Sarah. She was the first person he wanted to see and he was rewarded with the sight of her showing off her first lost tooth.

"Papa! Are you paying attention?" she asked before Erik looked up again with an apologetic look.

"Yes, I'm sorry sweetheart. I'm just working on something here too."

The little girl sighed, "You're always busy with work. When are you going to come home again? If you can go to the desert and play with giant robots, why can't you come back here for a few days?"

The Blue Ranger bit his lip trying to come up with a good answer but he knew he didn't have any, "I… I don't know yet Sarah. I just got back from a mission so I think they might give me a few days. Can you be good and wait just a little longer?"

Sarah pouted on the other end and nodded before the door opened and Martin and Erin walked in. Erik turned quickly and moved to rise to his feet, "Oh…sir…I'm sorry. I didn't know you were coming by."

From the view screen, Sarah looked over and piped up toward Martin, "Are you Papa's boss?"

Erin stifled a laugh while Martin gave an amused look and walked over to the screen. Since Erin always carried her universal translator device around, they were able to understand the little German speaking girl. Martin gave a kind smile and nodded, "I guess you can say that. Are you Sarah?"

"Yup! That's me!" she said proudly before crossing her arms, "Can you give Papa a vacation? I want him to come home so we can play."

Erik watched in shock as his daughter negotiated directly with his commander causing Martin to laugh, "I'll tell you what kiddo, I promise I'll see what I can do for your Papa. Is it okay if he calls you back in just a few minutes? I need to talk to him. It's about important army stuff."

"Well… okay," she said wagging her finger, "But don't forget, you promised."

She reached for the screen and ended the video call as Erin broke out into loud laughter, "Oh my God! Erik, your daughter is adorable… and the way she calls the shots..."

"Martin, I'm so sorry about all that," Erik said in mild embarrassment, "Kids… you know?"

"Relax Erik. It's fine," Martin laughed as he stepped back to address the two Rangers, "I actually wanted to speak to the two of you about your actions in Dubai this past week. I was impressed by everyone's preliminary reports and I was more impressed by the way you two handled things in my absence. I wanted to say I'm very proud of you guys and I'm glad that you're safe."

The Blue and Yellow Rangers exchanged a knowing smile between them before Erik looked to their leader, "Thank you sir, but if it's all the same to you I'm just going to be glad to hand command back over to you. I appreciate the experience and the trust, but I'm happy where I'm at right now."

Martin nodded in understanding and cleared his throat, "For what it's worth, I also wanted to say I personally nominated you both for commendations. I think you guys earned it."

The two younger Rangers smiled and gave a pleased salute before Erik gave a hopeful look, "Thank you Captain… but as great an honor as a medal is, I think I'd prefer a few days leave to be with my family instead."

Martin crossed his arms, "I'd love to approve that for you Erik, but we've still got a lot of paperwork to get through and I need you here."

"Might I recommend a good replacement for a few days?" Erik said giving Erin a little elbow in the side.

The Yellow Ranger gave him an incredulous look before smiling, "Seriously? Okay. If you let me crash here in your room for the time being, then we have a deal. I don't feel like getting into another fight with Ella over our housing situation."

Erik shook her hand and turned to the Red Ranger, "Well… all problems solved. What do you say boss?"

Martin smiled and turned to head out the door, "I'd say you'd better get packing Dobermann. Reilly, I'd like the rest of Erik's report typed and on my desk tomorrow at sixteen hundred hours. Please and thank you."

Erin cast a friendly grin over to Erik and tossed him his duffle bag, "Come on big guy. Let me start by helping you get packed, huh? Your little one is waiting for you."

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Okay, I know that was more of a serious plotline, but it's time for a break in the action before a new Ranger joins the team. That will set up the last few plot arcs of this first half of the current series. I've got a whole second half/season plotted out for later in the future so thanks again to everyone for sticking with it. Until then!**

 ***Fox 1-2-3: term used by NATO combat pilots when firing various missile weapons.**

 ***Those curious about the inspiration for the UNAF air forces, they're based on futuristic versions of these modern aircraft.**  
 **-Kestral Interceptor: French Dassault Rafale**  
 **-Pegasus Fighter: U.S. F-22 Raptor**  
 **-Firebird Fighter: Eurofighter Typhoon**


	33. Silver Bullet

**Mission 14: Part 1**

The keening sound of seagulls was heard from above as the Rangers of Nova Squad enjoyed a quiet recreation day in the West End of Atlantis Base. The heat of the summer season had begun to fade and give way to autumn, but on that particular Saturday, the weather was warm, sunny, and mild. They had decided to go out to the piers to get some fresh air and sunlight while doing a little fishing. At the edge of the floating city base's docks, the three male Rangers sat together with their legs hanging off the pier while holding fishing rods.

Bharata Timothy took in a deep breath and enjoyed the feel of the light on his face, "This is great isn't it? I used to love going fishing back home in Jakarta… just being outside, and getting to commune with the peace and quiet of the great outdoors."

"Or as much peace and quiet as can be had around here," Martin sighed as he looked up and heard the distant roar of a Kestral fighter plane taking off from the city's northern runways.

"That's okay," Erik chuckled as he reached into a cooler and tossed his two friends some cans of beer, "Fishing still gives us an excuse to sit around and drink in the mean time. A few more cans and we won't need to catch any fish to have fun today."

He glanced over behind them to where Erin, Ella, and Lucy were relaxing in their own little camp area. "How are you doing over there, girls?"

The two female Rangers had laid out on some beach towels in their swimsuits to do a little sunbathing and Erin lazily gave a thumbs up before rolling over to nap some more. "Save one or two of those cans for me, will you Dobermann?"

From where she sat, Ella turned and moved over to talk to Lucy. Unlike her fellow girls, the scientist had opted to stay dressed and read a magazine instead of sunbathing. "Hey Dr. Beckett, are you having fun?"

Lucy looked up and adjusted her glasses before giving a polite smile, "Oh… yeah. Thanks for inviting me to come along with the team today. This is really nice."

Ella looked down at the reading material Lucy was holding and raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Really? An engineering periodical? I thought we dragged you out of the lab to relax."

"This is relaxing," Lucy insisted as she folded up her scholarly magazine.

Ella pointed over to where the three boys were sitting laughing over a crude joke and taking another swing of beer. She shook her head with a smile, " _That_ is relaxing. What you're doing is still studying."

Lucy sighed and leaned back on her towel, "So you're suggesting I should be reading some trendy fashion magazine or trashy celebrity tabloids instead?"

"Don't forget the smutty mags like Cosmopolitan if that's more to your taste," Erin chimed in idly while wearing a teasing smile, "One can never have too many sex tips or Top 20 lists about how to please your man."

Lucy rolled her eyes and gave a huff while Ella joined in laughing at her. The Pink Ranger put a hand on their friend's shoulder, "Relax Dr. B. We're just messing with you. We hardly ever see you out of the lab or off duty and we're curious what you do for fun."

Lucy shrugged, "Fun? Well… I don't know. When I was younger may Dad would always take me on camping trips in Northern California, but hiking and roughing it in the wild wasn't ever really my thing."

She pursed her lips thoughtfully, "I do like painting… oh, and listening to music too."

"Like what? Classical? Maybe Jazz?" Ella asked curiously.

Lucy curled up sheepishly, "Well… no. More like Country Pop music… but don't tell anyone?"

Ella and Erin exchanged a look and began to giggle. The Yellow Ranger shook her head "Who would have thought our prim and proper doctor is a wild cowgirl at heart? Does Martin know?"

Lucy's face turned a little red recalling a memory, "Umm… let's just say a few years back, he caught me singing and dancing in my lab late one night while my stereo was on. I swore him to secrecy under threat that his equipment might mysteriously malfunction."

Ella and Erin laughed again and the Pink Ranger smiled brightly, "Oh come on, that's nothing to be ashamed of. Next time the three of us are free we should have a girls night and catch a concert, or do Country Night at one of the West End bars."

At that moment, the five Rangers' morphers chimed and interrupted them. Erin gave a sour look and shrugged, "I guess girl's night will have to wait. Looks like we've got trouble."

Martin jumped to his feet and waved his team over, "Come on Rangers. Let's get a move on."

As the girls fell in alongside him and headed back to the city center, Bharata sighed and grudgingly collected the fishing rods while Erik grumbled and took one more beer with him from the cooler. He had a feeling he was going to need it.

* * *

Once they had returned to the Command Tower of Atlantis Base, the Nova Rangers cleaned up and reported still dressed in their casual clothes, but looking presentable enough. When they congregated in the tower's briefing room, they were met by General Caldwell and another young man wearing a blue UNAF dress uniform. He was very fair skinned with short black hair shaved close to his head. The expression on his face was a calm neutral one and he stood at disciplined attention and eyed the new arrivals curiously. On the shoulder of his uniform, the squad saw the emblem of a Union Jack flag identifying him as a soldier from the United Kingdom.

Caldwell cleared his throat and gestured for the Rangers to sit, "Everyone… I'm sorry to have called on your day off but there's a lot going on today. In light of the recent battle to liberate Dubai from the aliens, UNAF High Command has authorized the addition of a new Ranger to join your ranks. Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Lance Corporal Jacob Massey from the British Army."

The Rangers sat staring in surprise while the young man gave a respectful salute, "Thank you General. It's a privilege to finally meet all of you."

The others nodded in stunned acknowledgement before Bharata furrowed his brow, "General… this is all so sudden. Why weren't we given more advance notice of this?"

Caldwell grimaced apologetically and handed a personnel file to Martin, "I'm afraid I don't have the answer Lieutenant. This was just as much of a surprise to me too. What I can tell you was that High Command decided we needed more help after what happened in the Middle East and they wanted to have Cpl. Massey experiment with a new modified Ranger morpher."

Lucy's eyes went wide in shock, "They're doing revisions on my work? Can High Command even do that? How do they know it's safe?"

Caldwell raised a hand to calm her, "Yes. Yes. And they don't. High Command is interested in improving the tech of the Ranger combat suits… like a version 2.0."

The General gestured to Lucy and turned to Jacob, "Corporal, this is Dr. Lucy Beckett, the daughter of Andrew Beckett and the creator of the modern Nova Ranger tech."

Jacob gave a polite nod in her direction, "Ma'am."

Caldwell then gestured to Martin as the Red Ranger stepped forward to address the new arrival, "Jacob, this is Captain Martin Sterling, the Red Ranger and commander of Nova Squad."

Jacob saluted again smartly, "It's an honor to meet you Captain. I've heard a lot about you and look forward to serving under your command."

"At ease Corporal," Martin said as he sized up the new Ranger. Jacob looked to be a little younger, maybe around the same age as Erik and Bharata. The Red Ranger glanced at the file and skimmed over the records, "Looks like you're another recon guy… special training as a sniper… impressive."

"Thank you Captain."

"Your file says that you saw some action in the first Xeno invasion?" Martin asked.

"Yes sir," Jacob replied, "My unit participated in the defense of London five years ago. I and one other soldier were the only survivors of my section in that battle."

Martin grimaced and nodded in sympathy, "I'm sorry Corporal. I know what it's like to lose teammates too, but I'm seeing you left active duty for a while and just came back from the reserves?"

Jacob flinched and nodded, "Yes sir. I think the UK wants to show that it's still a relevant power and a significant contributor to this new war effort so it's been more active on that front."

Martin put down the file on the desk, "I see. I'm sure you're a fine soldier Jacob, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way… but something still doesn't add up. Why is a junior non-commissioned officer being assigned to this team with a new untested morpher?"

"Perhaps I can answer that Captain," Caldwell said with a gentle nod toward Jacob, "Mister Massey here has some significant connections. His father is a Lt. Colonel still serving in the British Army. I've never met him, but his reputation is a good one and he's highly regarded. His wife, Mrs. Massey also holds some considerable political and diplomatic influence. She's a Secretary of the British Ambassador to the UN."

"I know it might sound like a case of nepotism here, sir… but it's not entirely," Jacob said carefully, "Believe me, I was just as surprised to have this assignment thrust upon me when I was reactivated but I'm willing to do my best and prove myself to this team."

Martin glanced to Erik for a second opinion before the Blue Ranger shrugged, "Sounds like the British government is angling for some high profile representation in the war. The Corporal said it himself. It sounds political and way above his own pay grade. If it's out of his hands, we can't exactly hold that against him."

"On the positive side, another recon guy couldn't hurt either," Bharata added hopefully.

Martin took a long thoughtful pause before giving a nod back to Jacob, "All right then Corporal. Welcome to the squad. You may not be an officer, but we'll work something out for you and get you oriented."

Caldwell tapped his finger and pressed a button activating a display window, "Perhaps the squad might be able to start some immediate on the job training for Corporal Massey?"

Ella glanced at the world map and gave a puzzled look, "General?"

Caldwell folded his hands, "It seems there's a developing situation in the East African republic of Djibouti. There's a small UNAF listening post based in that area and it's gone quiet of late. We have reason to believe that the Xeno Machina forces who escaped from their defeat in Dubai may have taken up new positions there. The local African governments are requesting assistance and the nearest naval task force is still several days away. I'd like Nova Squad to go in first and investigate the region for trouble."

Erin gave an uncomfortable look, "If the Comm. Sat. station there really has been disabled, then it's possible it's being jammed by the Xenos. That means we're not going to be able to teleport in directly either."

General Caldwell nodded and looked to the team, "As a precaution, we're going to teleport the squad a short distance from the Comm. Sat. station. Once there, you can assess the situation and report back to base. I think in a particular mission like this, Corporal Massey's talents may come in handy to you."

Lucy rose from her chair, "I'll get Julian and take up my station in Ops. Rangers, I'll be prepared to help you as soon as you're ready to go."

Martin nodded in thanks before turning to the newest Ranger and giving him a light elbow, "All right then Corporal… tally ho."

* * *

Meanwhile just outside the small coastal city of Tadjoura in Africa, the last of the Xeno scout teams returned to their rallying point near the location of the UNAF communication transmitter there. After having evacuated from their disastrous rout in the Arabian deserts, the remaining group of alien forces fled south down the coastline of Africa to find a safe haven. For now they had landed in a jungle area and took cover under the concealment of trees. The Xeno soldier Taldyr restlessly walked and kept watch as subordinate drones and clone soldiers worked to do maintenance on their battered transport ships. He knew they needed to land, but the idea of hiding and biding time did not sit well with him. His commander Decimus had been especially unnerved after the past battle and his leader's behavior had been worrying. Taldyr believed the commander's pride had been wounded and he sought revenge. Why else would he have ordered this extra patrol?

Taldyr entered the main loading bay of the largest transport ship where the other scouts and Commander Decimus had gathered for an impromptu meeting. He had not been told what the commander's plans had been, but he hoped he would get a better idea now. One of the Eidolon scouts bent to one knee before the commander and set up a map projector which showed a holographic display of the area's topography. The large monstrous commander who resembled a battle mech swiveled toward the scout, "Your team has finished its survey like I asked?"

"Yes Commander," the clone soldier said, "The small coastal town of Tadjoura lies just below this ridge line. If we were to attack, we would face little resistance. We found an unmanned Terran signal station located nearby and a team of our saboteurs are working to jam its signals."

Taldyr frowned, "Commander, I don't understand. Why are we going to attack this place? Even if we jam the Terran station, wouldn't they eventually be alerted?"

Decimus turned back to his second in command, "This place has strategic significance. This small city lies along a major shipping lane of human supplies in the area. We will raid their stores for supplies to repair our ships and our drones. When we do, we'll find a safe place to contact Warmaster Hellspont and coordinate a new attack. I want you to prepare your troops and organize a plan to launch an attack in tandem with me. Is that understood?"

Taldyr still felt this was a risky idea but he stayed quiet and nodded for fear of incurring his leader's unpredictable wrath, "Right away Commander."

* * *

Later that day, Nova Squad teleported in to the outskirts of Tadjoura dressed for field duty. From their vantage point, the Rangers could see it was a small port city with shipyards being a primary feature. The rest of the town still looked to be a bit run down and slummy, although the coastal houses and mosques built in the area had all been whitewashed. Erin looked about for a minute before wrinkling her nose, "Looks like a charming place. If the Xenos are slumming it here, I actually wouldn't be surprised."

"You're about three miles southeast from the UNAF nav point," Lucy chimed in over the radio, "I'll transmit navigation info to get you there and monitor your surroundings."

"Thanks Luce. We're on our way," Martin replied waving his team on, "Let's go everyone."

As the team moved up the edge of the coast and headed into a patch of thicker jungle terrain, they took it slow to watch their footing and not tire themselves out. Along the way, the other Rangers walked with their newest teammate and made introductions and chit chat to pass the time. While Martin led the way and busily hacked through the brush with a deactivated Nova Striker blade, Jacob walked nearby with a sniper rifle slung behind his back and a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He offered one to his new teammates but they declined. Erik, ever the medical professional gave a sigh, "Are you sure you want to be smoking Jacob? Makes it kinda hard if you need to do some running in battle."

The sniper gave a smile and chuckled, "You can just call me Jake, sir. And there's no need to worry. I don't plan on having to get too close or run away from battle... not if I can help it."

He gave his rifle an affectionate pat and took another drag of his smoke. Bharata smiled and gave a thoughtful look, "You know, back with my old unit, the snipers in our recon team were all kinda serious and unfriendly guys. You don't really strike me as that way and its kinda refreshing."

Jake shrugged again, "I guess there's a certain kind of mystique to snipers. Everyone thinks we're all icy cold blooded killers but we still feel things, even when we do kill."

"Oh really? And what do you feel?" Erin asked in amusement.

Jake looked to the others and gave a dramatic pause before he smiled, "Rifle recoil."

The rest of the squad all broke out into a mild laugh as they continued plodding on through the brush. Erin gave Jake a little elbow, "Hey, the enlisted guy is pretty funny. If he can fight as well as he tells jokes, we may have to consider keeping him."

"Are you sure you're not just busting my chops because I'm English and you're Irish?" Jake retorted in amusement.

"It's a right of passage," Ella chimed in as she joined them, "You're the new guy so it's likely you're going to get dumped on a little."

"Don't forget the fact we all outrank him too," Erik added helpfully earning another round of laughs.

Martin stopped and turned around as he wiped some sweat from his brow, "Hey, will you guys try to keep it down a little? We're supposed to be keeping a low profile here."

Jake turned to Erin and whispered, "Is the Captain always such a serious tightass?"

"Only on missions," Erin reassured him, "He likes to try and come off as all grumpy and stern but he's actually kind of a softy underneath."

While they talked, Ella stepped forward and spoke in a coaxing pleading voice, "Martin, it's hot out here and we've been slogging through the jungle for a while. Can we please just take a short break for some water?"

The Red Ranger relented and gave a sigh, "All right, fine. Five minutes everyone."

As they sat down on some rocks and fallen logs, Ella reached into a ration pocket and removed a container. She sat down by Jake and offered him some of its contents, "Jake, would you like some homemade biscotti? I love to cook in my free time and always try to bring some extra treats to go with the team's field rations."

The other Rangers all began quickly gesturing and trying to wave him off while Ella's back was turned, "Really? Thanks Ella. That's very sweet of you. The squad sounds like it's really lucky to have that on hand."

"That's one way of putting it," Bharata muttered to Martin, "Speaking of right of passage..."

Jake took a piece of the Italian cookie stick and took a bite. Everyone watched as Jake shuddered and his face contorted for just a moment before he resumed his pleasant smile toward the Pink Ranger, "Thank you Ella... the biscotti... it was like nothing I've ever tasted before..."

"Great! I'm glad you like it too," she beamed, "Now, who else wants some?"

As Ella went to sit with Erin and Bharata, Erik handed the sputtering Jake a canteen of water while Martin came over to join him. Jake took a big swig and gasped once she was out of earshot, "Bloody hell, what did she put in there?"

Martin gave a sympathetic smile and clapped Jake on the back, "Best not to think about it. Consider that part of your initiation."

"Thanks... I think," Jake sighed, "Though I'm sure you'd hate to lose the team's Silver Ranger before a shot was even fired."

The Red Ranger stopped and looked at him, "Sorry... did you say Silver?"

Jake paused, "Yes sir. Is something wrong?"

Martin gave a conflicted look, "I'm sorry Corporal. It's just that it made me think for a moment..."

"About your former Ranger designation?" Jake asked.

"How did you..."

"It's no secret about what happened with the Alpha Rangers sir," Jake said, "Before I was given my new morpher, I was told that you had once been the Silver Ranger... Sterling Silver... that had been one of your nicknames, wasn't it?"

Martin's expression darkened and he shook it off before rising to his feet, "I think our five minutes are up. Let's get moving again."

Jake gave Erik a confused look and frowned, "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Before anyone else could speak, several loud booms were heard echoing in the air. Martin quickly reached for his comm, "Lucy? Status?"

"Unknown Captain," she responded quickly, "Telemetry is coming in now. I'm picking up explosions and fire. They're coming from Tadjoura... along with Xeno Machina bio signs."

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Special acknowledgement and thanks go to _Stormasius_ for contributing the team's newest member Jake Massey. While it's not a typical Sixth Ranger introduction, this has not been a typical series either. No doubt he'll get his chance to show off some new powers and weaponry very soon.**


	34. Party Crashers

**Mission 14: Part 2  
**

The whitewashed houses of Tadjoura burned and black smoke billowed into the skies as Eidolon soldiers and Xeno Machina battle drones marched through the town. While the aliens advanced, they destroyed or killed everything they came across and burned a path toward the coastal shipyards. It was there that they hoped to raid the ship containers and take on some much needed supplies. As they blazed their way through, Lieutenant Taldyr watched quietly as a few remaining citizens of the town fled in terror of the alien attack. Nearby, the mechanized Commander Decimus stomped through the paved road and sawed a car in half with a chainsaw like attachment on one of his arms. After doing so, he swiveled 45 degrees sideways and set fire to another house with a flamethrower weapon on his other arm.

"Commander, we're nearing the shipyards. Shall we push on?" the Eidolon leader asked.

Decimus snarled in his digitized voice, "Have the main group here continue to the shipyards. I want you to take a detachment of soldiers and come with me."

"Where are we going?" Taldyr asked in puzzlement.

Decimus pointed his fearsome robotic fingers up the coastline toward some hills at the northeast end of the town, "The humans are taking refuge in some of those bunkers. We are going to send a message to the Nova Rangers and the rest of the Terran military."

Taldyr stopped and frowned, "You intend to attack the civilian shelters? Why? They pose no threat to us, nor do they have any strategic value."

Decimus stomped forward and loomed over the clone soldier menacingly, "Our forces suffered a great loss in the deserts of Dubai. We will cause the Terrans just as much loss of life and resources as we have. I want our enemies to pay a steep price for their victory."

"Commander, slaughtering the civilians would be a waste," Taldyr protested, "They could be assimilated or made into slaves instead."

Decimus growled and leveled one of his weapons on the Eidolon, "This is your last warning Lieutenant. Do as I say and do not question my orders again. Is that understood?"

Taldyr stared down his commander and remained stone faced to hide his growing resentment before putting his helmet back on, "Perfectly Commander."

* * *

As the alien commanders split off from the main attacking forces, the Nova Rangers quickly made their way back into the embattled town of Tadjoura. As they surveyed the destruction around them, Bharata did a quick scan with his portable sensors, "It looks like the Xenos are headed toward the shipping yards. Supply raid maybe?"

"That would be a safe bet," Erin agreed, "If Caldwell was right about these guys then that means their transports shouldn't be too far either."

With her own scanner, Ella pulled up a map of the region, "We still have a problem though. Our Comm Sat. station is still down. If they're being jammed, we won't be able to call in any backup either."

Martin grimaced and tried to figure out which objectives came first: the listening post, the enemy transports, or the Xenos attacking the town right now. After a long moment, he made up his mind, "All right. The civilians come first. We don't have time for the relay station. Bara, I want you and Jake to locate the Xeno dropships. Take out their pickets and disable as many of their craft as you can."

The two younger Rangers gave a quick salute as Lucy radioed in, "I'll scan the area for the residual enemy engine trails. I'll guide those two the rest of the way."

Martin nodded, "Okay. The rest of us are going to intercept the enemy. Let's move out!"

With their new objectives set, the Ranger team split up and went to work to try and save the burning coastal town before it was too late.

* * *

After picking up on the fading energy signatures of the alien transports, Lucy sent Bharata and Jake the data they needed and guided them through some of the jungle brush until they came to a large clearing. They stopped and remained silent as they spied several Xeno transport ships sitting idle with only a few Eidolon sentries. The alien guards looked bored and didn't seem to be paying close attention which allowed the two rangers to creep in a little closer. As he moved silently through the jungle vegetation, Bharata smiled and sized up the battlefield in front of him. He was in his element now and just needed a few moments to plan a deadly ambush of his own right now.

Jake stealthily moved beside him and crouched low while readying his sniper rifle. Having been also placed in his element, the young Corporal slipped back into his old military training. He spoke in a faint whisper, "What's the plan, sir?"

Bharata reached for his morpher and replied quietly, "I count about eight guards. I'll go in first and draw their attention. When I make my move, start taking them out."

"Can do Lieutenant," Jake grinned as he placed an unlit cigarette in his mouth and readied his sniper scope, "How are you going to get close enough to strike?"

"Watch and learn my friend," Bharata smiled as he quietly activated his morpher, " _Energize_."

No sooner did he morph into the Green Nova Ranger, Bharata activated the stealth feature Julian had built into his morpher. Jake watched in astonishment as the image of the Green Ranger rippled for a moment and seemingly became invisible. The Corporal smiled as he saw an invisible figure move forward and rustle some ferns. "Blimey... that's some brilliant stuff right there."

Jake waited patiently and began lining up targets with his scope waiting for Bharata to make his move. He idly chewed the end of the cigarette and zoomed out of his scope a moment to see everything in front of him. As he did, he saw a rippling form in the air grab an Eidolon from behind and cut him down with a vibroblade. In the clearing, Bharata whirled around and pulled his blaster pistol as his stealth mode faded away. He saw one of the other clone soldiers reach for a blaster staff but a sharp crack in the air was heard and a shower of sparks erupted from the helmet of the Xeno. It collapsed into a lifeless heap before another crack of sniper fire was heard and struck a third Xeno soldier in the throat. Bharata saw a momentary spray of bluish colored blood before the alien trooper feebly reached for its throat and dropped dead.

The Green Ranger grinned and gripped his weapons. He was falling behind in the score and if Jake wanted to make a game of it, Bharata would oblige. Soon enough, the two Rangers cleared out the last five enemies and tied each other with four kills each. Bharata walked back out into the clearing and holstered his weapons while Jake emerged from the brush, now smoking a lit cigarette and discharging the spent armor piercing shells from his gun.

"Nice shooting there Massey," Bharata smiled as he gave his teammate a fist-bump, "You're pretty quick on the draw there."

"Thank you sir. I'm a little out of practice, but it's nice to know my aim hasn't gotten too rusty," Jake replied as he reached into his backpack. He pulled a small stick of C4 explosives and gestured to the alien transports, "Shall we?"

Bharata grimaced and retrieved his own, "We weren't planning on a demolition mission so we don't have a lot of this stuff to go around. Let's blow the ones we can and sabotage the others if we have time. Our teammates are going to need us."

Jake nodded in understanding and headed toward the entry hatch to one of the transports while carrying his explosives, "Sounds like a plan. Let's get to work."

* * *

Meanwhile, the other Rangers hurried back into the besieged town of Tadjoura and followed the trail of smoldering destruction until it led them to the Xeno raiding force. As the four Nova Rangers approached the shipyards, they saw a large number of clone soldiers and battle drones breaking into the large ship containers and pillaging things like metal and electronic equipment. Erik looked around and noted there weren't any civilians to be seen, "That's odd. Have all the civilians escaped?"

"There's group of safety bunkers set up on the other side of town Lieutenant Dobermann," Lucy answered over the comm, "I'm guessing the people have taken shelter there."

Erin cracked her knuckles in anticipation of battle, "Great! Then that means we can really cut loose here. Only thing is... where's the enemy commander? I don't see any here."

"You don't think a field commander is back with the transport ships, do you?" Ella asked in concern.

"We'll worry about that later," Martin answered while reaching for his morpher, "If Bara and Jake haven't radioed a distress call, then we'll take that as a good sign. Everyone?"

The others pulled their morphers in unison and activated them causing the Xeno invaders to stop and turn in panic, " _Energize_!"

The raiders froze in dread as four Nova Rangers emerged from shimmering lights colored red, blue, yellow, and pink. They were suddenly set upon by a blur of their human enemies who charged into their ranks. Ella sprinted forward using her morpher's shield mode to deflect incoming blaster fire before springing high in the air with a graceful twirling somersault. As she passed overhead, she pulled her blaster in midair and returned fire easily taking down several drones.

Nearby, Erin tumbled into the fray and knocked aside several Eidolons with a cartwheel and sweeping kick. As the enemies tried to counter with jabs from their staff weapons, the Yellow Ranger swept her other arm around and blocked with her own morpher's shield. Once she had turned the attacks aside, she swiftly pulled her own vibroblade and cut three of the clones down with one fierce counter slash.

Across the path, Erik bullrushed a heavier battle drone into a ship container and used his shield mode offensively to momentarily pin his foe. Using his enhanced speed and strength, he hooked an arm under the drone's leg and lifted it up. He twirled his enemy for a moment and hurled it into another group of Eidolons who were coming around a corner to attack the girls.

"Strike!" Ella cheered giving the Blue Ranger a thumbs up while standing over the downed troopers.

Atop a nearby shipping container, Martin fended off a few Eidolon spearmen with his vibroblade. The Red Ranger deflected their thrusts and punched or kicked them aside before flipping off the container and whirling back around to pull his blaster. He fired a few shots and dropped the remaining attackers before turning back to his own team. "Looks like we've got a party now."

The four Rangers huddled up and found themselves surrounded on all sides by more incoming Xeno troops. Ella glanced about and scratched her chin, "Huh... I don't remember inviting all these guys."

Before the Nova Rangers could reply to her quip, several enemy troops went flying from behind as a Nova Striker materialized from nowhere and cut several foes down. The clone troops and drones turned in surprise just in time to see the Green Ranger materialize from his cloaking mode and fire an overcharged blaster shot which blew away another pocket of them. Bharata rolled through and took up a spot with his team, "Sorry we're late. We got a little held up blowing the Xeno escape ships."

Erin raised a confused eyebrow, "Uh Bara? You said we. Where is Jake?"

"Coming to save the day!" the Corporal called out from atop a nearby shipping container. "It's time to crash this party!"

All the Rangers and the Xenos stopped to stare at him in astonishment as he boldly announced his presence on the battlefield. He gave his new comrades a wink and a smile, "Don't worry everyone. I'll handle these wankers."

Jake pulled his own Nova Morpher and activated it with a flourish, "Super Silver Nova Blast!"

Everyone was blinded for a moment by a bright flash as Jake disappeared in a nimbus of light and emerged in a futuristic silver battle suit with the same design as the other Rangers. It's shining silver color reflected the light above and like the other Rangers, neon light glowed along the edges of the armored suit. In Jake's case, his suit was accented with a golden color.

"Whoah! Look at that!" Erik exclaimed in surprise as Jake took a moment to admire his own suit.

"All right... I can get used to this," the Silver Nova Ranger grinned as a struck a pose and took advantage of everyone's shock.

Back in Atlantis Base Ops, Lucy almost fell out of her seat at the sight of the newest Ranger, "No way... I can't believe it actually worked!"

Jake was snapped back to reality as he heard the Red Ranger's voice cut in over the comm, "Quit screwing around Corporal! Get to it!"

"Right!" Jake answered as he got oriented to the new sensors within his visor helmet. He could already feel much stronger and powerful than he ever had, no doubt from the effects of the battle suit he wore. He took a great leap forward into a mob of Xeno soldiers and called on his own special weapon. "Fusion Striker, blade mode!"

A wrist mounted weapon which almost resembled a sword bayonet formed around his morpher and lit up like the Rangers' Nova Strikers. Two ruined battle drones went flying backwards in a cloud of sparks as Jake tumbled past and swiftly hacked through a few more.

A group of Eidolon clone troopers thrust their staff weapons at him, but Jake easily parried them aside and sliced the tips of them clean off. As the Silver Nova Ranger leapt backwards to give himself space, he saw a new readout inside his visor with new suggested tactics. "All right, let's give this a go. Fusion Striker, rifle mode!"

The blade quickly retracted and reconfigured into a large wrist mounted gun. He quickly locked on and gunned several of the Xeno troopers down in a spray of blaster fire. The other Rangers could only stare in amazement as Jake plowed forward into the remaining enemies and used his momentum to run up the side of a shipping container. As the Silver Ranger outmaneuvered his opponents, he reconfigured his weapon one more time and fired a different type of laser blast which ricocheted off the ground and other shipping containers. Having effectively put the alien mob in a crossfire, the ranger whirled back around and overcharged his weapon for a final pulse. The singular shot mowed down all the Xenos at once and cleared the way to show the Nova Rangers standing in awe.

Before Jake could say anything else, his suit faded reverting him back to his original form. The other Ranger hurried over and crowded around to congratulate the spectacular display. Ella pumped a fist and gave him a high five, "Wow! That was amazing! You really took it to them!"

"Tell me about it!" Bharata exclaimed in wonderment, "Those weapons are way overpowered."

Jake frowned in confusion and reached for his comm, "What exactly just happened Dr. Beckett? My suit powered down all by itself just now. Is that normal?"

Everyone waited for a moment as Lucy went over a screen full of new data back at her station before she replied, "I'm... uncertain Corporal. I need more time to go over this data, but if I had to guess, your prototype morpher still has a few bugs. The weapon systems are running at peak performance, but there are issues with your battle suit's stability. I'm guessing those shlock UN engineers who designed it prioritized your offensive power over things like defenses or holding your Ranger form for extended periods of time."

"So until you can work out the bugs, Jake is on a time limit each instance he morphs?" Erin asked.

"That's my working theory... yes," Lucy answered with a hesitant tone.

Martin gave an approving nod toward the newest Ranger, "Well... for what it's worth, you did good back there Jake. Well done."

Jake blinked in surprise before giving an appreciative salute, "I... uh... thank you Captain."

As the moment passed, Erik put a friendly arm over the younger Ranger, "Now then... Super Silver Nova Blast? That morphing call and the posing was a bit over the top, don't you think?"

Jake shrugged sheepishly, "Err, sorry. I was just spouting stuff off the top of my head. I'm guessing Energize is the magic word?"

Before the others could tease him any more, General Caldwell radioed in with an unusually grave tone in his voice, "Nova Rangers, stand to! The battle's not over yet. We're picking up more distress signals. It's coming from... oh God..."

Martin glanced at his team and answered, "What is it General? What's wrong?"

Caldwell hesitated, "This may have been a diversion. A company of Xenos have moved north east... they're attacking the civilian safety shelters!"

The six Nova Rangers exchanged a shocked look in silence before taking off to their new objective. They could only hope that they wouldn't be too late... but the odds of that at the moment were not looking good at all.


	35. Cold Blooded Killers

**Mission 14: Part 3  
**

Loud explosions echoed in the air as clouds of dirt and rock erupted from the town's safety bunkers. Flames began to rise and plumes of thick black smoke began to rise as one by one the civilian shelters built into the nearby hills began to cave in. The Xeno Comander Decimus fired several blasts at the entrances of the bunkers while a line of battle drones stood adding to the destruction with their own weapons. As he stood by, the clone solder Taldyr watched the sight feeling a little helpless.

He knew he shouldn't have been feeling any pity for those human civilians in there who were likely dying. After all, they were with the enemy and he had been trained to hate them... but he was starting to find that it was harder and harder to do that. He had witnessed acts of mercy, friendship, and cooperation between the humans on the battlefield and begged the question... could their race really be all that bad and irredeemable? If anything, the Terrans were fighting to protect each other and their homes. It was more than Taldyr could say about his own kind. What exactly were he and his clone brethren fighting and dying for anyway? Why were they letting themselves be given orders from rulers who didn't seem to put a value on their lives in the first place. He knew he was doing that dangerous thing called thinking again, but he couldn't help it as he continued to watch the needless massacre unfold before his eyes. As much as he tried to deny it, he was beginning to feel a little sick inside.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as a laser bolt cut through the air and blasted a drone from behind. Decimus and his Xeno cohort slowly turned from the slaughter only to catch sight of five Nova Rangers arriving on to the scene followed by a human soldier carrying a long rifle. The commander rotated the weapons on his arms and gave a laugh, "Finally... the Nova Rangers. I've been waiting to meet you."

"What is that thing? Jake asked quietly to Bharata as he moved off to the end of the formation, "That guy is like a walking tank."

Before anyone could answer, the Rangers took a look at the scene and froze in horror realizing that they had come too late. The bunkers had been under heavy fire and several were already burning or caved in. Erik clenched a fist in fury and turned toward the fearsome alien leader, "You monster! I remember you from Dubai! What have you done here?"

Decimus laughed, "Reminding the people of your world that their champions, you Nova Rangers are not all-powerful. You couldn't save these people and in the end you will not be able to save this entire planet either. You people of flesh and blood are still so weak... so bound by limitations."

"Yeah, well we've been doing a pretty good job of kicking your asses in every battle we've fought against your kind," Ella retorted angrily. "If you think killing a bunch of helpless civilians is some boost to your ego then that's pretty disgusting!"

Decimus took a step forward, "Consider this act a warning human. This is all just a prelude of the horrors Warmaster Hellspont and our Overlord Phaeton can bring to this planet."

As the Xeno spoke, Jake continued to stare at the destruction and carnage before him. The light of the fires and the smell of the smoke began taking him back to that horrible three day battle in London five years ago. He remembered seeing destruction around him and the cries of trapped civilians and his own dying comrades while they fought off the first alien incursion. The mixed feelings of anger and fear in the wake of such a merciless enemy came rushing back and Jake found it paralyzing. The Rangers could not save these civilians here just as he could not save his own squadmates in that battle. He wanted to hurt the aliens and make them pay for every single person who was lost.

At the head of the formation, Martin clenched a fist and steadied his own emotions which had begun rage as well. "We may be too late to save everyone here, but we're not going to waste this chance to avenge the victims either Xeno."

Erin turned her head, "Captain, we should advance with caution. That Xeno's armor shrugged off most of our weapons in the last battle."

"Understood Erin. Jake?"

The Silver Ranger blinked and took a second to focus through his blinding hatred of the Xenos bubbling up from his gut. "Sir?"

Martin drew his vibroblade, "Do you still think you can morph?"

Jake readied his rifle and crouched low, "I think I've got enough power for one more."

"Stand by and get ready to make it count Corporal. Nova Rangers? Let's go!"

Jake raised his rifle and took aim before firing at a Xeno battle drone. The shot struck the droid in the knee and blew the joint apart causing it to topple over in a disabled heap. While Jake reloaded and lined up another shot to cover the advancing Rangers, Decimus waved his troops onward, "Attack! Kill the Rangers!"

While the remaining warriors and drones charged, Taldyr stayed back, "Commander! We should stay down and take a defensive position to meet the human attack. If we charge, those units will be vulnerable to their sniper."

The unhinged mechanized commander growled and whirled around on his subordinate in fury, "You were warned clone! You've questioned my orders for the last time!"

Decimus armed a grenade launcher from his shoulder arsenal and took aim at Taldyr. The Eidolon clone soldier dove clear of the first shot and rolled on the ground firing several blots from his blaster spear on his commander. The shots struck Decimus but did very minor damage leaving scorched score-marks on his outer hull plating. The commander fired one more grenade which landed near Taldyr and exploded, throwing his second in command backwards into the dirt. Before he could see if the blast had in fact killed the traitorous clone soldier, Decimus turned to meet the oncoming charge of the Nova Rangers after they had carved through his other foot soldiers.

Martin led the way with a leaping slash attack that raked the thick armored flank of Decimus causing only minor damage. As he rolled past, Erin and Erik attacked together with their own vibroblades in a direct frontal assault. They slashed the front of the mechanized monster's body, yet their blades only cut in about an inch and stuck. The Xeno growled and swiveled his body on his axis throwing the two aside only to meet a hail of blaster fire from Bharata and Ella on the other flank. Like before, their laser weapons deflected off and did very minimal damage to the commander which only seemed to enrage him more. Decimus produced a flamethrower from his arsenal and fired a withering gout of flames which the Green and Pink Rangers barely warded off with a quick draw of their shield mode.

From the rear rank, a sniper bullet hit the Xeno's arm and threw off the aim of Decimus just a little while the shot deflected away in a shower of sparks. From his crouching position, Jake scowled at his enemy and loaded another shot, "Well you're a thick skinned bugger now, aren't you?"

Jake's distraction bought Ella and Bharata just enough time to deactivate their shields and fire overcharged blaster shots to momentarily stagger Decimus. The Xeno stumbled back momentarily as the other Rangers regrouped.

"What now Captain? Our weapons aren't getting through that armor," Erik called out in concern.

Martin gritted his teeth, "Lucy? Have you got any good news for us here?"

The Rangers heard her furiously typing and transmitting new data to them, "I've scanned the enemy. It looks like there's an organic being fused with the core processor. The problem is, it's under all that central armor plating made from a newer alloy we haven't dealt with yet."

"All right... we'll pull a demolition job and then throw the kitchen sink at this guy," Martin nodded, "Lucy, send Bara a couple magnetic explosives. Bara I need you to get in close and stick those bombs on that monster."

Bharata found two magnetic charges instantly transported to him and he gave a nod while activating his stealth feature again, "Understood."

The Red Ranger pointed his blade forward, "Let's slow up that Xeno and give Bara his opening."

No sooner did Decimus shake off the last attack, he found four Rangers rush him together and try to restrain him momentarily. He gave a furious roar and pushed back while Bharata rushed in from behind and leapt atop the Xeno, planting the magnetized explosives to the top of the monster's box frame. With a violent whip of his arm, Decimus threw Ella and Erin away before using his other arm to backhand Erik and Martin aside as well.

"You really think you can match my strength Rangers? Don't make me laugh!" Decimus roared as the five gathered together again.

"We'll see who's going to be laughing Tin Man," Martin retorted, "Prism Cannon!"

In a flash, Lucy transported the Ranger's energy cannon to the battlefield and Decimus stopped as he saw the barrel of a powerful new gun leveled at him. Once the cannon was loaded and aimed, Erin gave a thumbs up, "Let's put this guy down!"

Off to the side, Jake watched as the Rangers fired their cannon and discharged a powerful beam of positron energy. The bolt struck Decimus head on and detonated the charges that Bharata had placed which caused an even greater explosion. For a moment, it looked like the Xeno commander had been destroyed, but the Rangers all froze in shock as they saw a large hulking figure emerge from the smoke and flames. To their horror, Decimus plodded on and leveled his own guns and missile pods. The entire front of his sloped body armor had been scorched and mangled but it held, just barely.

The surprised Rangers didn't have any time to react before Decimus returned fire and blasted the five with a merciless hail of rockets and blaster fire. The five Nova Rangers were repaid in kind as they were engulfed in an equally great blast and swept aside violently. Once the fires died somewhat, Jake watched in horror as his fellow Rangers all lay on the ground, battered and barely conscious. All five of them then demorphed leaving them completely vulnerable to any follow up missile barrage.

"This is the end Rangers," Decimus gasped as he readied one final barrage of his weapons.

"Not so fast Decimus!" came a sudden voice from off to the side. Decimus turned in surprise only to see the battered and bloodied form of Taldyr leveling a rocket propelled grenade he had recovered from a fallen battle drone.

Taldyr growled and pulled the trigger of his weapon, "You've been relieved of command."

The projectile rocketed forward and struck Decimus head on. The Xeno violently staggered sideways as the blast mangled the last of his heavy armor, exposing his vulnerable interior.

"Damn you Taldyr!" Decimus sputtered as the Eidolon weakly collapsed back to the dirt.

At that moment, Jake saw his chance and sprinted forward with his morpher, " _Energize_!"

From the smoke of the battlefield, the Xeno turned in surprise to see one last Ranger rushing forward and transforming in a flash of light while in mid-stride. "Who... who are you?"

Jake ignored the question and focused solely on taking down the target to save his comrades. "Fusion Striker, rifle mode!"

Again the wrist mounted weapon formed up around Jake's hand and unloaded a punishing hail of energy bolts at the weakened Xeno leader. Decimus stumbled drunkenly to the side and activated his chainsaw arm. The Xeno took a wide awkward swing once Jake had gotten near, but the Silver Ranger easily evaded it and used his momentum to bound up and strike a final blow. He converted his weapon to blade mode and drove it into the exposed center of Decimus to cause catastrophic damage.

To Jake's surprise, the upper torso of Decimus instantly erupted into a violent fireball which threw him backwards along with his fellow teammates and caused him to demorph as well. As the smoke began to clear and the fires subsided, the six unmorphed Rangers slowly pulled themselves up to survey the aftermath. They had won that battle, but just barely. Their faces were covered in grime and their whole bodies ached from the punishment and physical exertion of the fight. While Martin and Bharata helped Ella and Erin sit up, Jake struggled to catch his breath and fumbled for his cigarette box in his shirt pocket. As he took one out, he lit it with trembling hands and took a puff before Erik sat up next to him and reached out for the cigarette.

"Corporal... mind if I borrow that for a minute?"

Jake handed Erik the cigarette and watched in shock as the Blue Ranger took a long drag and exhaled. " _Dankeschon_." (Thank you very much)

"I thought you didn't smoke, sir."

Erik handed the cigarette back with a trembling hand as well and nodded in thanks, "Yeah... well , I'll make a little exception today."

The Rangers all sat and watched as the bulky smoldering remains of Commander Decimus slumped over and went inert. A few dying clouds of sparks erupted from some of the mechanical joints while a fire continued to burn from the Xeno's ravaged upper body. The last of Decimus's organic parts and central processor burned in flames as a gout of smoke billowed from the missing upper right quarter of the mechanized monstrosity.

Upon regaining their footing, the dazed exhausted Nova Rangers staggered forward and saw the form of Taldyr slump over on his side. The wounded Eidolon clone soldier lay in the dirt and limply let go of his weapon when he saw the Rangers approach. He breathed heavily and some of his bluish blood had dried alongside the grime and smoke on his face. He kept his eyes fixed on the Rangers, neither showing anger or fear... but rather an unusually quiet steadfastness.

Jake moved forward and loaded one last bullet into his sniper rifle while giving a look of contempt to the fallen Xeno trooper. He began to raise his weapon and point the barrel at Taldyr, "You Xeno son of a bitch... you're responsible for butchering all those helpless people... all of you. I'm not going to take that sitting down."

He suddenly felt a hand reach out and move his rifle aside firmly. He stopped and glared at Erin who met his expression with just as much seriousness, "Jake! No! Don't do this."

"With all respect Lieutenant Reilly, these bastards just massacred countless innocent people here. I think we're well within our rights to finish this last one off."

Erin kept her grip firmly on the rifle and held her stern gaze, "This one helped us back there... and he willingly disarmed himself. I think he wants to surrender."

"Xenos don't surrender Lieutenant. You know that," Jake protested.

"Put down your weapon Corporal. That's a direct order," Erin insisted as she interposed herself between Jake and Taldyr.

"That's enough!" Martin barked sharply causing the whole squad to jump in surprise, "Stand down... all of you."

Jake grudgingly lowered his weapon and scowled as Erin stepped aside. Martin stepped forward with his blaster pistol drawn and stood over Taldyr. He glanced to Erin and was reminded of a similar argument he had with her on the streets of Paris in what now seemed like a lifetime ago. They had been in similar positions, but how much had changed? How much had they all changed? He took a deep breath and locked eyes with the Yellow Ranger, "Erin... do you think you can talk to him?"

Erin blinked in surprise for a moment before giving a hesitant nod, "I... I think so. I'd like to try. I think something may be different this time."

The Red Ranger gestured toward Jake, "If that Xeno raises one finger to harm Erin, you take that shot Corporal."

Jake kept his rifle at the ready, "Yes sir."

Erin waited and then nodded to her captain, "Thank you Martin."

Erin slowly stepped forward and bent down over the wounded alien trooper. She cleared her throat and spoke a few simple words of the Adventi language hoping it might carry over, "Can you understand me?"

Taldyr raised a curious eyebrow and nodded slowly responding in his own similar tongue, "Yes... I think so."

"Thank you for the help," Erin said slowly, "We can help you too... but you have to give up."

Taldyr nodded and laid his head back with a sigh, "I accept."

Erin turned back to her team, and tried to keep her own knees from shaking too much in excitement. "He's surrendering everyone. This is unprecedented... we have a live prisoner of theirs."

"We've still got a lot to deal with here," Ella pointed out grimly as she gestured to the smoldering civilian bunkers. She turned to Martin, "Captain... what are your orders?"

Martin looked soberly to the bunkers for a moment before composing himself in the wake of the massacre that still occurred, "Erik... treat this Xeno's wounds, then start in on any civilians. Bara, Ella, and Jake, you three start looking for any survivors in the shelters. Do what you can."

Erin stepped forward, "And what about me?"

"Get on the comms and tell Caldwell what happened. Tell them there are massive casualties. We're going to need as many medical and recovery crews as we can get here."

Erin watched as the other Rangers somberly went about their tasks while Martin grimly turned away and looked out toward the quiet waters of the coastal city. He remained silent until she spoke again, "Sir, we barely defeated the Xenos today... but it doesn't feel like a victory either... does it?"

He gave a deep sigh and looked back to her slowly, "If the Xenos wanted to pay us back for all the losses we've dealt them... then they certainly made their point today."

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Hey all, apologies for my screw up last chapter. I had accidentally posted something from another story in place of the chapter so thank you to _Stormasius_ for bringing it to my attention. Also, for those familiar with the dystopian sci-fi franchise Warhammer 40K, Commander Decimus was heavily based off of a war machine called a Dreadnought so a little credit goes to Games Workshop for that idea too.**


	36. Aftermath

**Mission 14: Part 4  
**

A bright light shone down from the ceiling of the sparsely furnished interrogation room while Erin Reilly sat across from the prisoner on the other end of the table. Sitting in a chair across from her was the captured clone soldier Taldyr who regarded her with a steady, even expression. Standing behind Erin were two armed UNAF marines watching and waiting for any possible sign of danger. If Taldyr was intimidated, he didn't show it and continued to regard the Yellow Ranger in silence.

Erin sighed and placed a small device on the table. Her trusty universal translator which she had cobbled together with Julian's help would serve to try and facilitate the questioning as she downloaded her current information about Adventi language into it. If there was some similarity with the Xeno's native speech, then she hoped the device would help and maybe even collect more data so she could refine the translation program more at a later time.

"All right... let's try this again," Erin began.

Taldyr sighed and glanced at the guards before looking back to her, "I have already told you. My name is Taldyr. I am an officer of the Xeno Machina forces."

"What were your forces doing in East Africa?" Erin asked while watching him.

"We were looking for supplies. We needed to service our aircraft and drones after being defeated in your central desert lands."

Erin narrowed her eyes, "Okay, a large part of your forces were raiding for supplies, but your commander..."

"Decimus."

"Thank you. Commander Decimus," Erin corrected herself, "You and him were leading in the slaughter of hundreds of innocent civilians. Non-combatants."

"I did not lead or approve that action," Taldyr protested with steel in his voice, "I was simply following the orders of my leader."

Erin tapped her fingers on the desk, "And why would your commander want to butcher countless non-combatants? Those who posed no threat to you."

Taldyr fell silent for a moment before speaking, "Decimus... he was... I believe he was not mentally fit to lead any more."

"Oh yes... we saw that," Erin replied, "You turned on your own ranks and even surrendered to us. I want to know why."

Taldyr grimaced and rustled the chains which bound his wrists and his ankles to the table of the room, "I told you... Decimus was going to get everyone killed. He did. I did what I had to so that he could not lead any more of my kind to a meaningless death."

"You mean to tell me that you Xenos care about each other? We haven't seen that before," Erin said patiently, "All we've seen is your kind mercilessly killing our own."

The clone trooper sighed and leaned forward, "I am telling you the truth. There are some of us who different. Some of us have begun to think about what we see and ask dangerous questions... ones that could get us executed among our own kind. We were bred to be obedient unquestioning soldiers... but part of me has begun to wonder if that is really such a good thing."

"So are you still loyal to the Xeno Machina? Are you still serving them?"

Taldyr gave a conflicted look, "I am uncertain who I am loyal to anymore. I sympathize with my warrior brethren, but I cannot serve an overlord that values our lives so little either."

Erin took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. She had a feeling this was going to be a long night.

As he watched Erin continue trying to communicate with the Xeno, Bharata stood with General Caldwell behind an observation window in the base's detention facilities. He glanced over and saw an unusually grim crease in the base commander's features, "General? Is something wrong?"

Caldwell gave a tired sigh and looked to her with concern, "I'm sorry Bharata, my mind was elsewhere at the moment. I was just wondering if getting any information out of this alien soldier is really going to do us much good."

Bharata tilted his head curiously, "Sir?"

"Regardless of what this Taldyr tells us, the fact still remains. There was a major massacre in Tadjoura and we failed to stop it."

The Green Ranger grimaced, "General, we were already spread thin and not expecting to fight such a large force there. We couldn't have known the enemy was going to do such an unexpected thing."

Caldwell folded his hands and paced slowly, "Regardless, we still have to answer for it. In the coming days, I'll be meeting with members of High Command and an inquiry panel from the UN on the matter."

"I'm sure you'll be able to make them understand what happened... right?" Bharata asked hesitantly.

Caldwell frowned to himself, "I can't say for certain. Politicians and bureaucrats don't always understand what it's like to be on a battlefield or have the fog of war make decision making difficult. For them, they tend to only care about the bottom line numbers and optics... how things look so that they can put a positive spin on it and sell their agendas to the public."

"Are you saying they might try to target us... or Atlantis Base?" Bharata said.

"Difficult to say," Caldwell shrugged, "I hate to admit it, but if we don't play ball with the world governments or make nice with them at times, we risk having them put pressure on us in unpleasant ways, the worst being a change in management."

Bharata looked up in concern and clenched a fist indignantly, "They wouldn't dream of replacing you... would they?"

"Not unless I have anything to say about it," Caldwell said putting a firm reassuring hand on the Green Ranger's shoulder, "I want to eliminate this alien threat as much as everyone else, but I'm going to do my best to make sure every person under my command lives to see that day too. For now, you and the other Rangers just worry about doing your jobs. Let me deal with the politicians and protecting the people of this outpost."

"Yes sir," Bharata nodded while turning to leave the room.

Caldwell scratched his chin, "Bharata, where is Lieutenant Dobermann right now?"

Bharata halted, "Erik is staying up tonight helping our medical staff with the injured civilians we took in for treatment. I have a feeling it's going to be a late night so I'm going to go try to get some food for him."

"Thank you Lieutenant. I think he'd appreciate that," Caldwell nodded before turning back to the interrogation window in silence.

* * *

Meanwhile, Martin reclined at the desk chair while taking a video call in his bedroom. On the other end of the line, Christina Lasky sat combing her hair while they talked. She had put on some night clothes and looked ready to go to bed soon. She gave an apologetic look, "Are you really sure it's okay? I know it's kinda late by you right now."

Martin nodded with a gentle smile, "Yeah, don't worry Chrissy. I'm actually glad you called. After everything that's gone on lately, it made me feel better so thank you."

Chrissy put down her comb and studied him while putting her hair up into a messy ponytail, "I've been following the news reports. After I heard about those battles in Dubai and then the tragedy in East Africa... well, I got kinda worried and I had to see how you and the team were holding up."

"We won that battle by the skin of our teeth," Martin admitted, "The team seems kinda discouraged right now and we've all been feeling a little shaken. In a way, it was a little bit of a wakeup call... that we need to step up our game. Our team could only do so much in Tadjoura and I can't help but wonder if there was something else I could have personally done to prevent that massacre. Maybe if I had more intel, or made a better judgment call somewhere?"

"Martin... nobody is blaming you for what happened," Christina said comfortingly, "If what you told me is true, then your team did the best it could. You can't put the entire weight of the world on your shoulders and you can't be in a hundred different places at the same time either. You Rangers are only human."

"That's what the Xeno said too," Martin muttered glumly.

Christina fell silent for a moment and tried to put on a positive face, "Well hey, look on the bright side. At least there aren't any more alien troops directly menacing the planet. Things should be a little more quiet and peaceful now, right?"

"I guess so."

"Great, then maybe that means you could schedule some time off and come visit soon?" Christina asked hopefully, "I do have a birthday coming up and I'm hoping you can make it. I figured maybe we could take another day or two and I could show you around my hometown."

"I'll see what I can do but it might be tough right now," Martin answered apologetically, "At the very least, I have a gift that I can still mail you... just in case."

Christina gave a tired yawn and smiled, "You're just lucky I'm too sleepy to press you more on the issue. I still miss you though."

"I miss you too Chrissy, but you know I have to be here for my team right now. They need me."

She nodded, "It's okay, I understand. Stay safe and go take care of your team?"

"I will. Get some rest sleepyhead."

Christina laughed before kissing her fingers and putting them to the screen and signing out, "Talk to you later flyboy."

As the call ended, Martin sat back and looked outside at the night sky from his window. He knew most of the team were keeping themselves busy with other tasks to keep from being down about the recent events. It was probably best to follow up on Chrissy's suggestion to check up on everyone and try to keep them positive. After all, that was his job. He had done that for her once and now it looked like the team could use some motivation too. And he knew the exact person he wanted to speak to first.

* * *

Across town in the West End of Atlantis Base, Jake Massey sat at the counter of the Sundog bar. The Silver Ranger idly smoked a cigarette while nursing a half empty pint of beer which sat in front of him. Given that it was already a bit late in the evening, the popular bar and grill was a little on the quieter side tonight and that suited Jake just fine. Right now, he just wanted to think over everything that had happened recently and make sense of it. On one hand, he knew he should have been happy and excited. He had joined an elite combat unit and made a major contribution in his first major battle. He had morphed successfully and while it resulted in the destruction of a Xeno commander, it had been a hollow victory too.

As he watched the trail of cigarette smoke slowly drift upward, he thought about the hundreds of innocent helpless civilians who had been butchered and how that triggered the same feelings he had in his first encounter with the aliens. He had come close to letting his feelings get the better of him and he had been rebuked by his commander. If anything, he felt in over his head at the moment he and wondered what his parents and the British government were thinking in assigning him to this post.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard someone sit down at the counter beside him and order a beer, "You look like you could use some company. Do you mind if I sit?"

Jake turned to see Martin and moved to stand while nearly dropping his smoke into his beer glass, "Captain Sterling? Sure... please sit down, sir."

"At ease Jake," Martin said waving it off, "No need for all the formalities here. I see you've found your way around the West End here. It's a nice corner of town isn't it? Almost makes you think for a minute we weren't on some giant floating military base."

Jake nodded and sat down. "Yes sir... I uh, wasn't expecting to see you out tonight. Err... care for a fag, sir?"

The Red Ranger blinked in confusion before seeing a proffered cigarette and not picking up the British slang word. He shook his head before being served his own beer, "No, thank you. I came to see how you were holding up tonight."

"Well Captain... to be honest, I'm a bit knackered at the moment," Jake answered before seeing Martin give another puzzled look, "I meant tired, sir. It's English."

"I speak the same language here."

Jake waved it off and took a drink, "No mate, you speak American. I meant real English... the Queen's English."

Martin sighed patiently and took a drink himself, "How have you been adjusting to your new post here? I figure you're still settling into your quarters and all?"

"That part's fine sir," Jake answered, "It's just more difficult with the actual Ranger stuff. I mean... a few days ago I was very excited to join the team, but after that battle... I'm beginning to have my doubts. Being a Nova Ranger isn't as fun or glamourous as it looks, is it?"

"I'm afraid not," Martin replied flatly.

Jake paused a moment and snorted, "They don't pay us enough for this shit either."

"No... they don't."

Jake sighed and took a long puff of his smoke, "You know, these last few days I can't help but wonder if I'm jinxed in a way. I mean, when I fought my first battle in London, my whole squad got wiped out. I come here for my first Ranger battle and you guys nearly got killed by that Xeno, yet a bunch of civilians still get slaughtered. Seeing that made me feel so hopeless and angry all over again. I just wanted to lash out and hurt those aliens back... like how I almost shot that trooper Erin saved. Maybe I wanted to try and assert some kind of control over this madness again... to avenge those people, or maybe my old squadmates... I can't be sure. It's an ugly business this war."

Martin nodded quietly, "I understand the feeling of losing people and wanting to hurt those responsible for their deaths. I've been there too and it's why I became a little uncomfortable when you joined the team and began asking about it."

Jake turned with a puzzled look as the Red Ranger sighed, "To be honest Jake, I saw a lot of myself in you... being a rookie Silver Ranger, having your old team wiped out, and dealing with the aftermath in your own way."

He pointed to Jake's beer and cigarette.

Jake stopped and gave a thoughtful nod before putting his smoke out in an ashtray, "How did you pick up the pieces and bounce back sir? How did you get strong enough to deal with it?"

Martin smiled gently, "I never fully recovered Jake. There are days I still think about taking revenge on the Xeno who hurt me... Warmaster Hellspont. But I still had a lot of help from people who reminded me that there was so much else to fight for, and more reasons to live than just my own issues."

"The others?" Jake asked curiously.

The Red Ranger nodded, "My new team, Dr. Beckett, and now you. All of them friends, and people who I want to prevent the same thing happening to. That's why I'm here tonight, not as your C.O. but as a new friend who can help you try to find your own way."

Jake looked to Martin for a long thoughtful moment before giving a faint smile. He picked up his beer glass and nodded, signaling a toast, "I appreciate that Captain. Thank you. Here's to the old Anglo-American alliance, comrades in arms for just over a hundred fifty years now."

Martin clinked his glass and took a drink, "Cheers... and by that I don't mean goodbye or thank you in British."

At that, Jake could only sit back in his seat and give the longest loudest laugh he had all day.

* * *

Elsewhere, Dr. Lucy Beckett sat glumly in her lab. She had laid out a large table full of recovered tech from the battles with the Xenos hoping she could come up with a new way to help the Nova Rangers. It was already late and she decided to put in some more work tonight. To do that, she had just brewed herself a fresh pot of strong coffee and armed herself with a full mug. On that particular evening, Ella had come by to keep her company and help her out with some of the electronics they had salvaged. The Pink Ranger had graciously volunteered her own expertise with computers to the cause and the two women looked over the daunting task in front of them. "Well, I'll be honest Dr. Beckett. I have no idea where we're going to start. A lot of this stuff looks like junk."

Lucy paced around the table and took a discouraged sip of coffee, "I don't know Ella. There has to be something here we can use. We can't afford not to figure something out. You saw the specs on that last Xeno commander."

Ella grimaced and spun idly in her seat while her laptop did a few diagnostic scans of a ruined Xeno computer processor. "Don't remind me. It wasn't so much seeing the specs as it was experiencing them first hand."

Lucy continued to poke around the table, "If there are other Xenos out there with weapons and armor like that Decimus character, then we've got to come up with some upgrades to our tech. Unless we do, our current level of weaponry is not going to be strong enough to get through the enemy leaders' armor or shields."

Ella sighed and looked to her laptop as the results came back and showed a negative reading. "Well we're not going to get anywhere looking through this stuff. Xeno tech hasn't leant itself very well to being adapted for other uses. We haven't even been able to get our hands on anything even remotely resembling one of their..."

Lucy stopped and turned to Ella waiting for a response, "Ella?"

The Pink Ranger clicked off her laptop and snapped her fingers before jumping to her feet, "That's it! What we need to go back to is a database!"

She hurried over to another console and pulled up several files in deeply encrypted alien script. "Dr. Beckett, instead combing through the Xeno tech, let's take a look through the Adventi database instead. Those aliens were just as advanced and we still haven't been able to figure out everything from their own records."

Lucy crossed her arms and thought it over while drinking some coffee, "You remember that the Adventi were more of a peaceful starfaring race of explorers, right? If a race like the Xeno Machina is more geared toward conquest and war, their weapons might be more useful to study."

Ella shrugged, "But you still created our Nova Ranger weapons and suits from their schematics. We have to assume that the Adventi still needed to protect themselves while exploring."

Lucy sighed and joined her at the console, "What I did was a stretch and born of necessity at the time. I assume you're pulling up the expanded records your team recovered back in the deserts of Mexico?"

"Maybe there's still something there we can make use of," Ella nodded hopefully while sorting through the files on the screen.

"There's only one problem though," Lucy pointed out, "These particular blocks of data are all heavily encrypted in the alien format. Not even Erin's programs could fully crack the codes and make sense of them."

"True," Ella agreed, "But you're forgetting something too. We have a Xeno prisoner and Erin has a hunch he might have a better understanding of this stuff than we do. She thinks the Xenos and Adventi are linked in some way and..."

"And it's a hell of a risk," Lucy countered, "You're suggesting we have an alien prisoner of war look at these files containing God knows what and trusting that he'll tell us? What if he gets away and brings that information back to the Xenos on the moon?"

Ella gave an unusually serious look to Lucy, "Doctor, I know it sounds crazy but right now, we might not have much of a choice either. Isn't it possible with great risks like this come great rewards too?"

Lucy met the steady pleading look of Ella and turned to glance at the junked Xeno tech on her lab table. She adjusted her glasses and took a deep breath before giving a slow nod, "Maybe you're right... maybe we should try to keep all options on the table, including that one. Now let's get to work."


	37. Tides of War

**Mission 15: Part 1  
**

It had been several weeks since the harrowing battle in East Africa and despite the tragedy, things were finally beginning to return to some sense of routine normalcy. Amid the hustle and bustle of the Atlantis Base personnel, Jake Massey walked the hallways enjoying the relative quiet that came with not having to deal with a Xeno attack. After leaving the base's central atrium, he made his way toward the science labs and cheerfully whistled the marching tune of the British Grenadiers.

Before he entered the lab, he stopped and took a moment to look at his reflection in a polished glass window, admiring his newly issued duty uniform again. He wore the same slacks and bluish gray duty jacket as his fellow Nova Rangers except his was personally accented with a silver colored piping. He gave his reflection a wink and nodded in satisfaction, "Ah Jake… you are one good looking bloke."

He entered the main research lab and ambled past a few busy scientists until he found who he was looking for. "Hey Dr. Beckett! How goes the work on my morpher?"

The base's chief engineer glanced up from her lab table as she continued to fiddle with the new morpher using some special instruments. "Corporal, hello. I wasn't expecting you to come by for a while yet."

"Sorry," the Silver Ranger shrugged, "I was just a little anxious waiting. Hopefully you were able to fix all the bugs in my equipment?"

Lucy put down her tools and wiped her brow with a weary half smile, "Well, not exactly. I've been making some progress in repairing the morpher, but I haven't quite worked out all the bugs yet. For now, you should be able to hold your morph for a longer period of time and the majority of your suit's defenses have been restored."

Jake took the morpher, "Thanks Doctor. When I'm not on ready status, I'll bring this back for more servicing."

"Oh? Is the General sending you guys on another mission?" Lucy asked curiously.

"It's possible. I'm actually on my way to a meeting with him and the other Rangers right now. I figured I'd pick this up and grab Erin while she's here too."

He pointed over and Lucy followed his finger to where her aide Julian and Erin were busy over a piece of equipment. Just across the way on the other side of the lab, Julian Wilson sat hunched over a lab table working to calibrate Erin's universal translator. While he continued fine tuning it, Erin sat nearby excitedly chattering away, "I can't wait to try out the updates to this thing Julian. I know it's only been a couple weeks but I've already learned so much from Tal."

Julian stopped and looked up a moment with a mildly incredulous expression, "Tal? You've actually given that thing a nickname?"

"Taldyr is not some kind of savage animal Julian," Erin explained, "He may be an alien, but he's still a living breathing person just like you and I."

The young tech grumbled, "Yeah… one who still comes from a violent murderous alien race. You've been spending an awful lot of time talking with him."

"Well, why not?" Erin shrugged, "We can learn a lot from Taldyr, especially if he is serious about deserting from the Xeno forces. I think it might help to try and be welcoming and open minded. I'm sure he could use someone to trust right now."

Julian sighed and finished his modifications before handing the device back to the Yellow Ranger, "I just think you should be careful Erin. If he already betrayed his own army, there's no telling if that Xeno would put a knife in our backs too and steal an escape craft."

She gave him a friendly elbow before walking off with a wave, "I appreciate the concern Julian, but we're actually going to be off to a meeting with the General and our new guest. Hopefully we can figure something out. Thanks again!"

"Don't mention it," Julian sighed with a resigned wave before turning back to his workstation and continuing with his next project.

* * *

A short while later, Erin and Jake made their way to the central Command Tower and headed into General Caldwell's briefing room. There they found the other Rangers waiting while the Xeno soldier Taldyr sat at the far end of the table. He had his arms and legs cuffed while two armed guards stood watch over him from behind.

Caldwell greeted the last two Rangers with a brief nod before taking his place at the head of the table, "All right. We can get this meeting started now. Rangers, I think you can see that some of the 'circumstances' in our war have changed."

He gestured to Taldyr across the table, "For one thing, we have a new prisoner and one that I think could prove to be a valuable ally as well. As you remember, this is Taldyr."

Martin cleared his throat and cast a wary eye toward the alien, "You'll forgive me General, but I'm still uncomfortable with having a Xeno here sitting at the table and being involved in a classified briefing."

Caldwell nodded, "I understand your concern Captain, but given what we've already learned over the course of these last few weeks, I think it's worth the risk to extend a gesture of good will toward Taldyr."

The alien simply gave a quiet nod of understanding before Caldwell gestured to Erin, "Lieutenant Reilly, you've been the one taking the lead on interviewing the alien. I'd like for you to report on your findings."

Erin nodded and passed out some copies of a file to her teammates, "Of course General. I'm sure you all know that Taldyr is an Eidolon soldier and they now form the bulk of the Xeno infantry forces. They're genetically close to us humans and have been artificially created to be superior soldiers. Both the male and female troopers on average are taller, stronger, and have more acute senses than us regular humans."

"That is correct Lieutenant Reilly," said the Xeno drawing all eyes on him, "After the first failed attack on your planet, the Overlord saw that there was a weakness in his old drone soldiers. The Xenos needed to adapt and field soldiers who could take initiative and react better to new battlefield conditions."

Erik eyed the trooper slowly before speaking, "You Eidolons have been a lot tougher to fight but you've failed to score any significant gains either."

Taldyr shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "It is a trial and error process. Every new generation of us that is grown have shown improvements… except things have changed. There is something that my superiors have found to be worrying."

The table fell silent as Erin cleared her throat and explained, "Taldyr has told me that the Eidolons still suffer from a true lack of free thinking and creativity. There are some rare soldiers like him that demonstrate the ability for greater thought and they are given leadership positions."

Bharata scratched his chin, "I think I'm starting to understand. The Xenos have some fear that the soldiers like Taldyr here might become too independent and hard to control?"

Taldyr grimaced and nodded, "That is correct. I have begun to see the way that my brothers and sisters are treated… used as expendable cannon fodder. Accepting that fate and sending by brethren to meaningless deaths… it does not sit well with me. Commander Decimus was a monster and had to be stopped so I tried to kill him… not so much for the sake of your human civilians, but for my own people."

Erin crossed her arms, "Taldyr has no desire to fight a needless battle with us humans, but he doesn't want to fight against his own kind either."

Martin scrutinized her carefully, "That might sound nice, but do you actually believe him Erin?"

Erin hesitated a moment before nodding, "I… I do. That's the reason I asked General Caldwell to allow him to meet with us today."

The Red Ranger turned to the alien, "You've told us a compelling story Taldyr. If you really mean what you say, then I sympathize a little. But you also have to understand our position too. For all we know, this could be some kind of trick. What reason do we have to trust you?"

"I suppose you don't," Taldyr shrugged, "Lieutenant Reilly tells me you are the leader of the Rangers. I can't fault you for being mistrustful of me Captain, especially if our roles were reversed."

Ella cleared her throat and turned to her team, "General Caldwell, I had spoken with Erin and Dr. Beckett and we think we have a solution to help with this issue."

The older commander sat down and gave a kind nod, "Go on Lt. Catalano."

Ella rose from her seat, "You guys remember the Adventi data cache that we had found in Mexico, right? There are large parts of it that are heavily encrypted in alien script and Erin has struggled to make sense of that. I'm suggesting that we ask Taldyr to help us translate the information. If Erin's hunch about a cultural link are true, there might be data in there that can help us upgrade our weaponry and I think we can agree that we need to after the battle with Decimus."

"What do you say Taldyr? We could use your help," Caldwell said.

The Xeno wrinkled his features, "You realize you are asking me to help advance your weaponry which will no doubt be used on my fellow comrades."

Erin extended a hand, "Believe me, we don't want to fight this war any more than you do. The sooner we can end it, the less people get killed on both sides. We're extending some trust here and offering you a chance to work with us. If you simply let the Xenos win, you'd likely return to your old life of servitude, or maybe even be tried for treason."

Taldyr fell silent and frowned with a pensive look. After a long pause, he spoke, "I understand I am still a prisoner of war here, but I suppose I will try and help you. You have shown me nothing but kindness and understanding since I came here Erin Reilly. I thank you for that."

Caldwell gave a nod while the other Rangers voiced approval towards Erin, "Very good. Let's get on the project right away. If we can improve our defenses, then there's no time to lose."

Suddenly, the door opened and one of the command tower's communication officers entered with a data pad. He gave a salute and presented the pad, "General Caldwell, I'm sorry to interrupt you sir, but there's an urgent dispatch for you. It's from the President of Indonesia."

Caldwell took the slate and began reading it quickly while the other Rangers turned to look at Bharata. At the mention of trouble in his own home country, the Green Ranger sat patiently waiting for news while trying his best to maintain a calm expression.

After reading the datapad, Caldwell handed it back to the officer, "Thank you. Please inform the President that I'll contact him within the hour."

He waited for the aide to leave the room before looking to the Rangers, "I'm afraid we've got some complications here Rangers."

Bharata spoke first, "Sir?"

"We've just received word there's been a major seaquake in Asia. Our sister outpost of Garuda Base in the Indian Ocean says Malaysia and Indonesia have been struck by a resulting tsunami."

The table went silent before Bharata spoke again, "How bad was it General?"

Caldwell folded his hands behind his back, "It's hard to say Lieutenant. Reports are still coming in, but we're expecting at least several hundreds have been displaced or killed right now. The President of Indonesia is requesting aid from the UNAF for security, supplies, and help with search and rescue."

Bharata immediately stood up, "Requesting permission to return home and help, sir."

Martin nodded and joined the Green Ranger, "I'm with Bara, General. Some of us should go to help too. It's the least we can do."

General Caldwell chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment before nodding, "All right. Permission granted. Captain, assemble a detail to provide some aid. The rest of you I want working on those translations. Until then, I'm going to be speaking with the President of Indonesia and then attending an important meeting with some UN officials. Dismissed."

Everyone rose and saluted before Caldwell exited the room. As Taldyr was escorted out by the guards, Jake put an encouraging hand on the Green Ranger's shoulder, "Cheer up mate. I know you're worried, but we'll do our best to help your people out."

Bharata took several deep breaths before giving a weak smile to his teammates, "Thank you… all of you. Now let's get going. I need to go home."

* * *

Later that day, the light from the transport sequence faded as Bharata Timothy found himself back in his home city of Jakarta Indonesia. He was accompanied by Martin, Eric, and Ella and the four had been teleported to a small UNAF staging area which had been set up at the edge of the city. According to the initial reports, the brunt of the tidal wave was further north and the neighboring island of Sumatra had suffered the worst of it. Despite being largely shielded from the disaster, the shockwaves have still caused some significant damage and destruction to the western part of the island of Java and Jakarta had become the center point for the relief efforts.

Bharata could see crowds of local volunteers being organized while several UNAF aircraft buzzed overhead. The Marauder gunships which normally served as troop transports and aerial fire support now worked busily to ferry relief supplies as well as rescue crews and civilian casualties. The team made its way through the bustle of enlisted UN volunteers and Red Cross workers until they found one of the leaders who was coordinating the efforts. An older Indonesian Colonel in the UNAF turned and gave a small wave as the Rangers approached his open air tent. He had laid out a map on a table and was busy coordinating the recovery of injured people and the deliveries of supplies. In any other scenario, he would have looked like he was directing a battle instead.

The short portly commander put on his field cap and stood straight as the Rangers stopped and saluted him. "Welcome Rangers. I am Colonel Anwar. I'm glad you've come to help."

Bharata served as a translator as he spoke between them in Indonesian, "Glad to be here sir. Just tell us where you need us."

Anwar glanced over and pointed toward tents at the other end of the grounds, "We've set up a makeshift hospital for the injured. You four can start by helping the Red Cross doctors there. I think we should be getting a new wave of civilians shortly so be ready."

Erik patted the large medkit slung around his side which was stuffed with first aid supplies, "All right then, let's do it."

After leaving the Colonel and heading toward the medical tents, the four friends halted as they saw a Marauder gunship touch down nearby and open its side hatches. Several volunteers and medical workers rushed out with stretchers and began fetching injured civilians who had been delivered. When the Rangers entered the tents, Bharata froze and let out a gasp. He rushed forward toward a nearby cot where a newly arrived victim lay.

"Erik! Come quick! Help this man please!"

The Green Ranger bent down over the older Indonesian man in the stretcher and wiped away some blood and dirt from the victim's head. He looked to be a man in his sixties with short gray hair and distinguished features. Like Bharata, the man had a preference for green colored clothing as well as a strong wiry build hinting at great unexpected strength. The patient cracked open his eyes tiredly and tried to focus on the Ranger in front of him before croaking out, "Bharata… you came back."

"I'm here now Mentor. You just hold on. I promise you're going to be okay," Bharata said while Erik began to prepare some fresh dressings and an IV.

The older man nodded and gave a tired sigh before falling asleep again. Bharata took the man's hand and held it firmly while the Blue Ranger looked over, "Bara? You know this guy?"

Bharata looked up slowly with a drawn face, "He's my mentor, Basuki Surya. Please Erik… don't let him die."

Ella put her hands over her mouth before Martin took her gently by the shoulders and led her away, "Come on Ella… let's see what we can do to help the rest of the staff here."

As he watched the two head off, Bharata turned back toward Erik who was busy speaking to a nurse and assessing Basuki's condition. For now he could only pray that his friends back in Atlantis Base were having a better time of their assignment than he was.

* * *

Meanwhile at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, General Caldwell made his way through the halls being escorted by a senior staffer there. The Commander of Atlantis Base presented a spit polished appearance in his dress blue military uniform and carried a dark binder of paper notes with him for his meeting. He didn't quite know what to expect, but he was sure it wasn't going to be pleasant.

After taking an elevator to the upper floors of the building, Caldwell was led to a large conference room where he was met by a small panel of UN officials. The front table appeared to be chaired by three people while several other junior bureaucrats and observers sat off to the side. The aide stopped and gestured to the panel, "General Caldwell, this is the inquiry panel of the International Oversight Committee led by Mr. Louis Dumont of Belgium, Ms. Indira Gupta of India, and Mr. Javier Ortiz of Brazil."

The aide turned and departed as Caldwell stepped forward toward a podium facing the panel. He stopped and stood at proud rigid attention. Mr. Dumont was the first to address him and eyed him curiously, "General Caldwell, thank you for coming. I trust your trip here was pleasant?"

"Yes sir. I apologize for any delay," Caldwell replied levelly, "I have been working to help coordinate relief efforts in Asia after news of the tsunami today."

"Yes... a tragic business," Ms. Gupta chimed in, "We thank you for your attention to it."

"General Marcus Caldwell…" the Belgian official continued, "You've had a long distinguished career in the Canadian Air Force and your tenure serving the United Nations Armed Forces has been equally impressive."

"Thank you Mr. Dumont," Caldwell answered with short and direct military poise.

Dumont folded his hands, "Since you've been put in command of the Atlantis Base outpost, you've never given this body any reason to question your judgment… until now."

"What specific issues would you like me to address?"

Ms. Gupta leaned forward and scrutinized him, "We have concerns about the events in East Africa… about the hundreds of innocent civilians of Tadjoura who were massacred in their shelters by the alien invaders."

Caldwell grimaced slightly, "We followed standard protocol. Our orbital relay station had been disabled and Nova Squadron was sent on a recon patrol to investigate. By the time they had assessed the threat, we were unable to send backup units in time."

"We are quite aware of what the protocol and deployments were," Ms. Gupta said as her voice grew a little more snippy and terse, "We've reviewed statements from the survivors as well as the report of Nova Squad's commander Captain Sterling."

Caldwell stood in place waiting with ramrod straight posture.

The third chairperson from Brazil, Mr. Ortiz cleared his throat and spoke, "General, we are aware that there is an alien prisoner in your custody… a soldier by the name of Taldyr."

Caldwell nodded, "That is correct."

Ortiz narrowed his gaze and interjected, "We would like to know General, why it is that this Taldyr has not been handed over to UNAF High Command yet?"

Caldwell eyed the three politicians quietly while gathering his thoughts, "I believe the prisoner is of more use to us being confined to Atlantis Base. From what I have seen, Taldyr has expressed ambivalent feelings towards his fellow Xenos and seems open to defecting. If he does, he will be an invaluable source of information."

"You forget your place General," Dumont snorted in derision, "The things that go on in Atlantis Base still fall under the purview of the UN provisional government. Our scientists and government intelligence people should be the ones interrogating him. Not you."

Caldwell kept his poise and confronted them, "With respect, but I think I trust my own scientists and base personnel more. For one thing, the prototype morpher issued to the new Silver Nova Ranger by your people has proved defective, unreliable, and dangerous to the operator in battle."

The Brazilian chairman's eyes lit up with a trace of outrage, "Are you daring to suggest that you know better than us General?"

"About conducting military operations and using resources properly? Yes." Caldwell answered defiantly, "Right now, we are sitting on a new treasure trove of data on alien technology. It's still heavily encrypted and we believe Taldyr can help us decipher it."

The panel regarded Caldwell in silence, both intrigued by his words, but also incensed at his stubbornness. The General took a breath and spoke in a calmer more placating tone, "The brave hard working men and women serving under me have been the ones holding the front lines and developing technology to keep us safe... from the soldiers, to the engineers and scientists, to the Nova Rangers. They know what they're doing and I trust them completely. All I'm doing is asking that you continue to trust me and to let our people do their job without undue interference. The sooner we can bring an end to this whole war, the more lives we can save."

Ms. Gupta glared at Caldwell and leaned back in her seat before shuffling some of her papers, "Thank you General. We will consider your words. For now you will carry on your duties, but I caution you… do not get too comfortable or assured of your own importance to High Command either. We will be watching you and your Rangers very carefully."

Caldwell kept his expression neutral to mask his indignation and anger at the condescension and threats of the government bureaucrats. He snapped off a brisk salute and did a swift about face before marching out of the room. For now it seemed that he and his people would be safe from political interference, but he could only wonder for how much longer.


	38. Prodigal Son

**Mission 15: Part 2  
**

The next morning, Bharata Timothy sat in a quieter tent which had been designated as a recovery ward for those injured in the tsunami. He had spent a restless night at the bedside of his mentor Basuki Surya, the man who had raised him and trained him in martial arts. As the late morning sun shone through the tent slits, the sounds of chirping birds could be heard over the busy chatter of volunteers and other medical workers passing through. The Green Nova Ranger sat reading short nature poems from a little booklet before he saw the patient beside him stir.

"Still reading poetry I see... nice to see some things haven't changed," the elderly man smiled gently from his pillow.

Bharata put down the book and smiled in relief taking the man's hands, "Mentor... you're awake! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Basuki squeezed back weakly, "It's going to take more than a tsunami to stop me my boy. You remember what I always taught you. Endurance in mind is stronger than endurance in body."

"I remember... otherwise I wouldn't be a Ranger," Bharata said.

"I'm happy to see you Bara. It's been too long," Basuki said, "It seems you've grown so much since you went into the service. I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you Mentor, but I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you," Bharata replied, "When I heard what happened... I couldn't stand the thought of losing you too."

Basuki fell silent and nodded. Bharata had been referring to his former girlfriend Diana who had passed away from illness a few years ago. She had been part of the reason he had left to join the war effort against the aliens in the first place. Even though Bharata had always believed in the military's cause, perhaps he had also needed a chance to get away from Jakarta to clear his head and focus again. He generally didn't like bringing that up with others and tended to fall back on the things Basuki had taught him like mental discipline and self control through his martial arts and meditation.

"The important thing is, you're home and we are together again my son," Basuki said, "We have a lot to talk about and I'd like to hear your stories."

"Very soon Mentor," Bharata said, "You've got to work on getting better right now. I'm here with my Ranger team and I'd like to try and help some of our countrymen too."

Basuki nodded again with a smile and laid back to rest some more. As the Green Ranger headed for the exit of the tent, he came across a young Indonesian woman who he immediately recognized. She was a petite slender girl with long dark hair partially obscured by an Arabic style head scarf. Her dark eyes went wide and her pretty face froze in a look of complete shock.

"Anisa? Is that you?" Bharata exclaimed in equal surprise.

The girl immediately threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a fierce hug before she stopped and pushed him away, "Bara... what are you doing here? It's been so long! I didn't expect I'd see you ever again!"

"You really think I'd leave Basuki or my country if they needed me?" Bharata asked.

Anisa had been a pupil of Basuki and another one of Bharata's longtime friends while growing up. He knew she had been upset with him when he abruptly left to join the military and he hadn't known the best way toward approaching her again if and when he returned. He opted for diplomacy today. "I'm glad to see you again Anisa. You look well."

She paused in surprise before blushing a little, "Well... I was a little upset just now, but I'm glad to see you too. You look um... better than I remember. The military uniform is very sharp on you."

"With any luck, I won't have to wear it much longer," Bharata said wistfully, "Whenever this war with the aliens ends, I do want to come back home again."

"You mean that?" Anisa asked hopefully, "I know Basuki would be glad to hear it... and so would I."

Bharata nodded, "I do, but for now my squad needs me. I have a job to do."

Anisa gave faint smile and nodded before letting him pass and she made her way into the tent to visit with their recovering teacher. As Bharata shook off that encounter and turned the corner, he came across the Pink Ranger who was returning to the recovery ward tents carrying some packages of dry food for the people. Upon seeing him, Ella reached in a package and tossed him an energy bar, "Hey Bara, have one. You haven't eaten much, have you?"

He shook his head, "Thanks Ella. I'm afraid not. I've been a little distracted worrying about Basuki since we've gotten here. The good news is, he should be okay."

"Glad to hear it," Ella sighed as she handed the box of food off to another worker, "In the mean time, I could use a break myself. We've been doing supply runs all morning and this tropic heat isn't helping one bit. I know Italy can get hot sometimes but how do you stand this?"

Bharata gave a faint smile and shrugged. Among his friends, he was the only one still wearing long sleeves and he didn't seem the least bit sweaty or flushed. "I dunno. I never really gave it much thought. How are you holding up?"

Ella chuckled and sat down, taking a moment to shake out her hair from her patrol cap, "Well, aside from all the sweating and the heat doing a number on my hair, it hasn't been all that bad."

She smirked and pointed as Martin and Erik approached carrying a large heavy crate full of medical equipment. Like many of the other men who were doing manual labor tasks in the camp, both male Rangers had stripped down and worked shirtless to try and stay cool in the heat.

"Oh geez. Don't tell me Ella is perving out and ogling us again," Martin grunted as he set down the load and tried to catch his breath.

"That's okay," Erik laughed good naturedly as he struck an exaggerated pose and flexed his biceps, "Might as well play along and give her a show."

"Glad to see she's at least getting something out of this trip," The Red Ranger sighed while Ella gave a playful wolf whistle towards Erik's antics. "I can only wonder how Lucy and company are doing right now."

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the research labs of Atlantis Base, Dr. Lucy Beckett pulled up blocks of encrypted data and ran them by Erin and Taldyr on a separate monitor to process. While she and her loyal assistant Julian worked their end, Jake fiddled with a few pieces of junked Xeno tech on a nearby table. He had volunteered to stay behind and keep an eye on Taldyr along with the other armed guards who stood at their posts protecting the doors of the lab. Although he didn't mind the security detail, it was a bit boring especially considering he didn't have any engineering or technical skills to contribute to the project. For now, he'd just try to stay out of the way and let the "Geek Squad" do their thing.

"Corporal, please don't touch any of that. We're still sorting through it," Lucy said without turning around.

Jake sighed and reached to light up a cigarette instead. Again he was stopped by the scientist with eyes in the back of her head, "And please don't smoke in here either. We have a lot of sensitive equipment in the lab."

"Yes Mum," the Silver Ranger mumbled sourly as he put away his lighter and ambled over to the others, "Any luck so far?"

"We're making progress... but it's slow going," Erin sighed impatiently.

As he studied the figures on the screen, Taldyr frowned and concentrated, "This writing and code is familiar to me, but not quite ordered in the way that we are used to using it."

Lucy crossed her arms and sat back thoughtfully, "You know, Erin had mentioned her theories about some common culture. I wonder why you Xenos would have some familiarity with Adventi writing and language."

"Perhaps because the Xeno Machina are their relatives," Taldyr said bluntly, "Well... not my kind in particular, but the original Xenos."

Everyone stopped and stared at him in shocked silence before Erin blinked, "What did you say? The Xenos and the Adventi both have a common origin? This is incredible! How? Why? Why didn't you say that before?"

Taldyr shrugged, "I thought that was common knowledge... even for your race. Why do you think The Xeno Machina are so determined to conquer your world?"

"Oh I don't know..." Julian muttered in mild sarcasm, "Maybe to strip our planet of its resources? Enslave the population? Take our women?"

"All of those are true," Taldyr said with a perplexed look, "Except for the last part. I fail to see the significance of such an act."

"Err... figure of speech mate," Jake cut in to cover for Julian, "You were saying about the conquest?"

Taldyr nodded, "The Adventi and Xeno Machina were once a unified race from a distant world... perhaps from another quadrant of this galaxy. We were taught that a terrible plague had spread across the planet killing countless people and putting the world in jeopardy."

"So what did they do?" Erin asked.

Taldyr frowned, "There was a great split between the people. Some decided to leave the planet in hopes of searching the stars for other worlds. Those people came to be known as the Adventi. Those who stayed decided to take a different approach toward survival."

"They became the Xeno Machina?" Lucy concluded as she adjusted her glasses.

"Yes," Taldyr nodded, "They overcame the weaknesses of their organic bodies and sought to find salvation by becoming one with machines. Eventually, it became a mission for them to spread their way and assimilate other races, to free them of weakness too."

Julian shook his head, "But that doesn't explain what your Overlord is doing here. If we're just some other roadblock in their way, why do they care?"

Taldyr looked up and gestured to the computer screen, "Don't you all see? It's because of this... the Adventi technology. The Xenos viewed the original Adventi as cowardly traitors and rebels who fled their planet. They want to punish and eradicate any traces of their Adventi cousins because they are viewed as a threat. Their technology was equally as great and if a younger race like yours harnessed it, you might be able to resist them... as you have demonstrated now."

Everyone in the lab exchanged quiet looks, taking in the history of their alien foes. It was a different feeling having it come from one of them and it seemed plausible based on what they already knew.

The silence was finally broken as Julian reached for his keyboard and began to type away, "Come on everyone. The Rangers and General Caldwell are counting on us to make progress here. Let's give them something to work with when they come back, huh?"

Taldyr quirked a curious eyebrow and went back to work alongside the Yellow Ranger, "Erin, this Julian fellow seems extremely serious about his work and determined to make a breakthrough. Is he always this way?"

Erin chewed her lip and frowned in mild thought, "It's a bit odd. Maybe he's wanting to impress his supervisor Dr. Beckett, or angling for a promotion."

Taldyr mulled it over and nodded, "I see. Is that why your fellow Rangers volunteered for that other assignment as well? To impress General Caldwell?"

Erin shook her head, "No Tal, they went to the country of Indonesia to help the people there and to support my teammate Bharata. That is his homeland."

The alien trooper continued his work decoding the script on the screen, "That is one thing I am still trying to understand about you humans... why it is you feel the need for such altruism or service to one another? You are soldiers. You accept that you or your comrades may die in battle, just as natural disasters happen here. It is all beyond your control, yet you still try to help care for the suffering and weak among you."

"That's just our way," Erin shrugged, "We humans all feel a need to protect and care for those close to us... like our friends, teammates, families, or even the people of our native countries who are like part of our extended tribe. You don't have any friends or family do you Tal?"

Taldyr wrinkled his features while he worked, "Unless you count my fellow soldiers in the group I was birthed with... then no. Our way was not to give sentimental ideas like that any thought. It would only get in the way of our mission and our judgment."

"That sounds so sad," Erin mused sympathetically, "But let me tell you what... if you are serious about helping us and trying to live a life of peace, then you're among friends here."

"Thank you," Taldyr said as he put a grateful hand on her shoulder, "I appreciate the words and I will give them more thought."

As the alien got back to work, Julian glanced over and saw Erin beam with a self satisfied smile of her own. He simply rolled his eyes in silence, grateful that Dr. Beckett was currently too engrossed in her own work to even notice.

* * *

That evening, after showering and eating a meal, Bharata sat with his fellow Rangers in a nearby building which was being used as a cafeteria for the soldiers and aid workers to rest and eat. He was joined by Anisa and introduced her to his friends while they finished their food.

"I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait to lie down in a cot and grab some shuteye," Martin sighed tiredly as he put down his utensils, "It's been a long day."

"Tell me about it," Eric agreed beside him, "The only problem is, I'm afraid to lie down after getting my whole upper body sunburned earlier."

Ella giggled, "If you got any more burned, you might have to be reassigned as the new Red Ranger."

"I feel your pain too Erik," Martin said pointing to his own sunburned nose and cheeks, "It's not easy being a white guy here in the tropics either."

Bharata laughed again and finished drinking some water before looking to his comrades, "You know... despite everything that's been going on here, I just want to thank all of you guys again for coming to help. I really appreciate it and it means a lot."

Ella smiled, "Of course, but I'm sure it's good being around some familiar faces again too, right? For one thing, we didn't know you were hiding a girlfriend here."

Both Bharata and Anisa turned red from the teasing before Anisa cleared her throat sheepishly, "I could see where you'd think that, but I'm afraid Bara and I never got that close. We had been taking martial arts classes under Basuki's instruction since we were little kids, but then Bara started going out seriously with a half British girl named Diana."

Erik and Martin exchanged a curious look before the Blue Ranger chuckled, "Count on our intelligence officer being full of secrets tonight. Where is this Diana girl Bara?"

"She passed away," Bharata said flatly while glancing away, "She died of a terminal illness a few years back."

The Rangers immediately fell silent before Martin cleared his throat and tried to break the awkward silence, "I'm sorry Bara..."

He shrugged and put on his normally calm and serene smile again, "Thank you Captain, but don't worry about it. It's all in the past. What's important was that we all moved on. I joined the military and became a Ranger, and Anisa here went into nursing school. What a coincidence we'd all meet here again, right?"

"Right. Let's just be glad this is more of a humanitarian mission than one with vicious aliens and lots of shooting going on," Ella added cheerfully.

Before everyone could get up, the Rangers' Nova Morphers sounded and Martin answered the call, "Sterling here."

"Martin, there's a potential situation going on in the Pacific," Lucy said from the other end of the comm, "You and the other Rangers might have to respond."

Martin gave a worried look his friends before nodding, "All right Luce. Talk to me. What's going on?"

From her workstation back in Atlantis Base Ops, Lucy pulled up digital maps and seismic data charts on her desktop, "Nova Squad, Garuda Base has been relaying new information indicating there have been chains of aftershocks from the initial seaquake. They believe all the seismic activity has stirred up some of the volcanoes on the nearby island of Sumatra. The primary one they're worried about is Mount Sinabung. There are civilian populations located nearby the volcano and they may need to be evacuated."

"We're going to need a lot of Marauder gunships," Erik said in dismay, "I don't think the UNAF will be able to gather enough on such short notice.

Ella sat quietly for a moment thinking before looking up and chiming in, "What if we drafted some of our zords into the operation? Those should be big enough and strong enough to clear lots of people out quickly."

"Ella, that's brilliant!" Martin smiled giving her a warm pat on the shoulder, "Lucy? Is there any way to get the zords here in time?"

Lucy blinked in surprise and did some mental calculations at her desk, "I... suppose it's possible. They've now been outfitted for use with the transporter so we should be able to send them, but it will take a little lead time."

"Good. Keep us posted," Martin replied, "We'll make ready for Sumatra right now."

As the other Rangers got up and quickly began moving for the door, Bara stopped as he felt Anisa grab him by the sleeve. She gave a pleading look that was mixed with fear and worry, "Bara... don't tell me you actually have to go. You know as well as I do how dangerous some of those volcanoes can be. If Sinabung blows, who knows what might happen?"

"And if Sinabung blows, do you know how many people might die if I don't do anything?" Bara answered, "I am a Ranger. This is my job."

She pulled at his sleeve again and protested, "Bara! Please! Basuki is already in the hospital and he barely made it? Are you in such a hurry to join him? I don't want to worry about losing you again too!"

Bara gently pried her hand off his sleeve and turned to leave with his teammates, "I'm sorry Anisa. I have to go now. There's a job to do and my team needs me. I'll be back again soon... I promise."

The Green Ranger turned and hurried out the door to join his fellow Rangers and gear up for their next rescue mission. As much as he hated having to leave his friend Anisa in such a worried state, he had made a promise and didn't intend on breaking it either.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Fear not everyone. I promise we've got real action coming up in the next chapter. I'm setting up for a bigger story plotline after this so we needed to get some of the other exposition out of the way first. Thanks for hanging in there readers!**


	39. Aftershock

**Mission 15: Part 3  
**

The lone droning sound of jet engines filled the night air as a small flight of UNAF gunships cruised low over the jungles of Sumatra. As they made their final approach toward the volcanic Mount Sinabung, they leveled off over a nearby village to aid in the evacuation. While the airships touched down, three giant craft joined in the effort and rolled on to the scene from the south end of the island where they had been transported in.

Civilians and soldiers alike could only stop and stare in awe as a giant tank-like vehicle rolled up the path and parked at the edge of the town. Its large treads made the ground rumble and shake as it came to a halt before being joined by a second giant vehicle. Ella sat in the cockpit of the tank zord and gave a wave as Erik steered the amphibious armor zord into position nearby. Upon stopping, they opened their large cargo hatches and Bharata Timothy emerged from one of them.

A few UN marines disembarked from the gun ships and gathered around Bharata who was now the ranking officer on the ground. The Green Ranger surveyed the town and noticed in dismay that the chain of aftershock earthquakes must have caused more damage than he thought. Several sections of the populated area had been severely damaged and some smaller buildings and homes lay in rubble. He waved the troops together and gestured toward the settlements, "All right marines! Form up! Our job here is two-fold. Squads One through Three will coordinate civilian evac to the airships and zords. Squads Four through Six are with me to search for survivors and injured. Move out!"

While the rescue crews got to work, Bharata cast a worried glance up toward the volcano in the near horizon and saw it belching ominous clouds of dark smoke. He tapped his comm, "Captain, how is it looking up there?"

Up in the skies, Martin sat at the controls to the sky zord and flew it in a cautious holding pattern so as not to get too close to the volcano. "Could be better Bara. Sinabung is looking kinda angry right now so you might want to hustle up with the evac. I'll be circling around to take readings and look out for any stragglers."

Bharata nodded as he made his way through some rubble in the town street, "Understood. Timothy out."

While Bharata and the rescue teams made their way through the ruins, a foul burning smell began to permeate the area. That was when he heard Lucy 's voice cut in over the comm, "Bharata, sensors are picking up increasing levels of CO2 gas and sulfur coming the volcano. Now might be a good time to put on some rebreathers."

"Thanks Dr. Beckett. Will do," he answered as he and the other troops with him pulled out small futuristic rebreathers to place over their mouths.

He led them deeper into the rubble to survey the damage and continue to look for any other trapped civilians, "Stay sharp marines. We don't have a lot of time to spare."

Moments later, he heard a squad sergeant call out, "Sir! Over here! I've found some people!"

The troops hurried over and found a small tenement building half caved in. From the edge of a ground floor unit, Bharata could see the walls had collapsed but it left a narrow pocket where a family had survived being crushed. The hole was just wide enough to let in some air and the father frantically waved his arm from the crevice, shouting for help.

The Green Ranger rushed over and took the man's hand speaking with a reassuring tone in native Indonesian, "Hold on sir. We're going to get you and your family to safety, but you have to stay calm."

He surveyed the wreckage, "Sergeant, do you think you and your people can dig a clear path without caving the place in?"

The sergeant grimaced, "It might be risky sir. We'll need some people holding this section of the wall steady while we do it."

"Let me deal with that part. You and your squad get to it," Bharata said as he quickly morphed into his Ranger suit. He braced himself and used his enhanced strength to begin securing an avenue for the soldiers to dig.

"You heard the Lieutenant! Shovels out, on the double!" the sergeant barked as the UNAF rescuers began furiously digging and clearing debris.

While Bharata continued to bear the weight and exert himself, he let his mind drift to try and mitigate the soreness. He thought about his mentor Basuki and the lessons he taught him, about how to still his mind and how to focus. Right now his words about mind over matter couldn't be more important. His mind wandered from Basuki to Anisa and about how upset she seemed when he had to run off and come here. He couldn't help but feel the same way he did when he first just left to join in the war effort. But things were different now. He was different now. He was stronger, more focused, and more confident than he had been when he first left his homeland and he was determined to put all that to use to serve his country once again.

As the digging soldiers made progress, Bharata felt the collapsed wall shift somewhat but his blood froze when he saw what happened next. To the shock and horror of everyone at the base of the volcano, Mount Sinabung suddenly erupted spraying a thick geyser of smoke and molten lava high into the air. The radio chatter immediately sounded in a fevered pitch as Ella radioed her own team, "Guys… did you just see that? We've gotta pick up the pace."

From the sensors in his zord, Erik studied the screens and watched bubbling gouts of lava begin to pour out of the top of the mountain, "Ella, we've got to finish loading up the civilians… like really soon. It's looking like we might have some potential rivers of lava headed down the slopes toward us."

Up above, Martin steered the flying zord back to give the volcano even more space, "All UNAF pilots, finish loading and get those Marauders clear. The smoke and fiery debris up here is only going to get more dangerous."

Back at the base camp, the sergeants of squads One through Three radioed in an all clear signal, "Rangers, everyone is loaded up into the zords and gunships. We're good to go."

"What about Bara? He and his teams are still out there," Ella protested in concern.

"I'll look after him," the Red Ranger radioed in, "You and Erik have orders to get clear. Those civilians you're carrying are priority one."

"You heard the Captain, Ella. Let's get the hell out of here," Erik agreed in a grim tone as he began driving his zord clear and rolling over a few trees that got in the way.

The Pink Ranger wrinkled her features in concern for her friends before she reluctantly put her own zord in reverse and began to drive her passengers further inland to safety.

Further inside the ruined town, Bharata and his men struggled to free the trapped family from the rubble of the building. Despite their hurried pace, the progress was slow going. While Bharata continued to strain under the weight that he supported, the sergeant of Squad Four took out his binoculars and eyed the nearby volcano with dread. "Lieutenant Timothy, those lava flows are coming down the hillside fast. We're going to be cutting it really close."

Bharata grunted as the soldiers succeeded in freeing the mother of the family first, "Keep at it. I'll try to get us some help."

He switched comms and radioed the Red Ranger, "Martin, we've got a lava flow headed this way and my men need emergency extraction. Do you think you can give us a hand?"

From the near distance, he could see the large sky zord cruise toward them from above. Despite its size and power, it had to descend carefully amid the area while avoiding the flying volcanic debris of the mountain. He heard Martin reply through clenched teeth, "I'll do my best Bara, but we have to be careful. I'm not exactly used to flying such a big clunky tub like this either."

While the lava continued to pour down the mountainside, two more members of the family of four were pulled from the collapsed building. While they worked to save the last person which was a young boy, some of the other soldiers administered first-aid to the other victims. Minutes ticked by as the soldiers watched the sky zord circle around them and descend slowly and carefully into the ruins of a plaza. Martin's voice came through over the comms, "Did someone call for a taxi?'

Bharata gave a sigh of relief as he watched the large sky zord hover and drop its rear hatch allowing for a ramp up into the hold. Seeing that the lava rivers were fast approaching, Bharata pushed aside part of the debris he was holding up. "Sergeant, get the survivors and the rest of the troops back on that zord."

The enlisted man blinked in surprise, "But sir, there's still one more civilian... the boy."

"I'll get him. Now go!" Bharata insisted. While the others scrambled to safety aboard the sky zord, the Green Ranger pushed through the last of the rubble to free a small frightened boy who had been pinned under some rocks. It looked like the boy's leg was broken and his face was covered in dirt.

As Bharata freed the boy and scooped him up, he pushed aside the rubble toward safety, "Hang on. Everything is going to be okay."

No sooner did he reach the hole was when the volcano belched a great cloud of fire and flames spitting golf ball sized brimstone down on the surrounding area. The violent hail of debris pelted the zord forcing Martin to move the vehicle toward a safer area. The Red Ranger growled to himself while trying to keep the large aircraft steady and keep a lock on his teammate through the interference, "Any time now Bara... it's getting a little hairy out here."

As Bharata climbed free out into the open, he could see Martin wasn't kidding. Mount Sinabung was bubbling over angrily and the lava flows had quickly reached the area. As the glowing river of scorching magma surged on, Bharata glanced about frantically while the zord wavered in the air nearby. Having Martin land again and collect him was out of the question and would take too long so Bharata did the only thing he could think of. He gripped the boy in his arms and began running quickly up the ruins of a nearby house before making a high leap and pushing off the edge of the neighboring building to try and double jump higher. He gripped a gutter pipe of a small building and held on one handed as the lava flowed below and made the nearby grounds unsafe. His plan to get clear of the ground had worked, but he had to get higher and would need to use every bit of his agility and ninja-like skill here.

He gasped in fear as the gutter pipe shifted and almost gave way, but he used his momentum to swing over to another window ledge and bound up the side of the building using his enhanced Ranger strength. As he reached the roof of the small building, he rolled hard along some of the shingles protecting the frightened boy he carried. While the lava continued to pool along the grounds below and destabilize the building, Bharata looked up to see the sky zord come about and hover near the edge of the building with its ramp down. In the hold, the other UNAF marines held their hands out to their last comrade on the ground.

Bharata patted the boy's head reassuringly, "Hey, have you ever wanted to ride in a big flying robot?"

The child nodded fearfully as Bharata took off running for the ledge to make one last great leap, "Okay, hang on!"

The Green Ranger sprinted forward and bounded off the ledge with a soaring Ranger leap before landing on the open ramp of the hovering zord. As the marines grabbed them and hauled them in, the rear hatch closed just as the building below began collapsing under the intense heat of the molten lava which ate away the foundation beneath. Bharata rolled on the deck and lay out in sheer exhaustion as his suit powered down. While the rescued boy hurried over to the waiting arms of his relieved family, the marines gave a cheer and hoisted Bharata up to his feet to celebrate the Ranger's heroic actions.

From his earpiece, he heard Martin laugh, "Bara you crazy S.O.B. I can't believe you pulled that off, man."

"Me neither," the Green Ranger gasped with his limbs still feeling like jelly, "But thanks for the lift Captain. Let's get out of here, huh?"

"And not a moment too soon," Martin agreed as he swiftly turned the zord around and hit the thrusters. The zord flew away safely from the erupting volcano and set a new course for the other side of Sumatra hoping to meet up with the other Rangers and survivors of the disaster.

* * *

After gathering back together at their designated meeting point, the four Nova Rangers celebrated a job well done and expressed relief that everyone had made it back safely. They spent the next day sleeping and recovering from their ordeal before returning back to the island of Java. There was still a lot of work to be done in helping the relocated tsunami and volcano victims, as well as incident reports to be filed on the matter. Despite the unorthodox use of the zords, they had still come in handy to protect others without firing a single shot at an enemy. After a few more days of assisting in the humanitarian efforts, the Ranger prepared to say their goodbyes and return back home.

From the public beaches of the city, the early morning sunlight glittered off the waters of Jakarta Bay as Bharata and Anisa both went through the meditative motions of a martial arts kata. Nearby, their old teacher Basuki sat on the sand in the lotus position. The spry old man was on the road to recovery and insisted on enjoying the warm air and stillness of the morning. While Bharata moved in slow graceful unison with Anisa, he enjoyed the feel of the sun on his face and thought about how the gentle sounds of the surf reminded him of the sounds of Atlantis Base. He knew he would have to go back to duty there soon, but he wanted to enjoy the last of his time at home as much as possible. He couldn't think of a better way as he finished his kata and took one more deep cleansing breath.

As he took a moment to look out over the ocean with Anisa, he heard her give a deep sigh, "Bara... I'm glad you could come here today, to let Basuki and I see you off. I really wish you didn't have to go again."

"Me too," Bharata said as a cool sea breeze swept by and a few seagulls coasted by overhead. "I really wish I could have come home under better circumstances, and that I could spend more time with you guys. But I'm needed back at Atlantis Base."

"Well, it's best we make use of the time we have together... and I guess that goes double for me," Anisa said shyly, "Bara, I want to apologize for the way I acted before when you had to go handle that volcano thing in Sumatra."

Bharata blinked in surprise, "Anisa? You don't have to apologize for anything..."

"I do," she insisted as she turned toward him, "I know you're a Power Ranger now and that means risking your life to save others and fight those aliens in battle. I really think that's amazing and heroic and I'm so grateful for what you do..."

"But?" Bharata prompted her after a pause.

Anisa glanced away, "I just can't help but worry. I had worried about you when you were depressed about losing Diana and I was just as upset when you up and left to join the military. I wanted to be there for you... and help you. I wanted to tell you that I loved you even when you were with Diana and I was afraid I wouldn't get that chance again when you left."

Bharata froze in surprise, "Wait... what? You love me?"

Anisa sighed and turned to look out over the ocean, "Since we were younger. I guess there's no point in trying to hide it now. I always kinda thought you'd figure it out sooner or later. Some intelligence officer you are, huh?"

Bharata smiled for a moment before nodding quietly letting her continue, "I was so excited when you returned and when you were so quick to run off to risk your life again in Sumatra... those same feelings came back again, especially those fears that I'd lose you again as soon as you came back into my life."

She was surprised as Bharata gently took her shoulders and looked down at her gently, "Anisa... thank you for telling me, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I had upset you both then and now... and that I didn't write when I left. I was dealing with a lot of things at the time and I had to find my focus and new purpose in the UNAF. I never meant to hurt you on purpose and I can only ask that you forgive me."

"Bara... of course I do," she replied happily.

He nodded and touched her cheek, "Good, because I meant what I said before too. I want to return home soon so that I can be near you and Basuki again too."

"Then we'll wait for as long as it takes Bara," she said with a smile as she reached up and gave him a soft chaste kiss on the lips.

As they parted, they glanced over and caught sight of the three other Nova Rangers watching from the distance atop a nearby sand dune. From the looks of it, Ella was already gushing in happiness while Martin and Erik exchanged an amused grin and nodded toward Bharata with quiet knowing smiles. The Green Ranger cleared his throat and tried to suppress the flushed look on his face. He knew as soon as he rejoined his friends, he was going to be teased all the way back to Atlantis Base, but he honestly didn't care. He felt Anisa's gentle hand on his arm, "Bara... it looks like your friends are waiting for you."

He smiled and squeezed her hand before walking a few paces toward his mentor. As Basuki opened his eyes, Bharata gave a respectful bow which was answered by a quiet nod from the mentor. "Go in peace my boy, and return with peace for all of us."

"Thank you Mentor. I promise I will see you again... sooner rather than later."

The Green Ranger straightened up again before turning to his waiting friends on the nearby sand dunes. Despite what had happened here, it had been good to return home and do something to help the people. As he began walking to rejoin his team, Bharata could only look to the skies and hope that he could return to Jakarta with his Ranger friends under happier times to celebrate peace, restoration, and what he hoped to be a new sense of unity with all the people he cared about.


	40. Tantalus

**Mission 16: Part 1  
**

The loud clatter of utensils and trays filled the air as the noontime rush commenced in the central mess hall of Atlantis Base. Martin Sterling wove his way through traffic carrying his tray and hoping to find a seat. As he walked, he also kept a file folder of paperwork under his arm with the intent to try and catch up on some administrative tasks while eating. Instead, he spotted his fellow male Rangers sitting together at a nearby table. At the center of the table sat Erik holding a magazine while Bharata and Jake huddled up intently beside him peeking inside. The three appeared to be in the middle of an animated discussion and they only paused a moment when they were greeted by the Red Ranger.

"Afternoon gentlemen, what's going on?" Martin asked breezily as he joined them at the table and sat down.

The three younger Rangers all stifled a few giggles before Erik cleared his throat and tried to maintain some air of decorum, "Oh… Captain. We were just reading through this latest issue of Sports Illustrated."

Martin rolled his eyes with a gentle sigh as he began to take a sip of iced tea, "I see. Let me guess, the swimsuit edition just came out?"

"How did you know?" Jake asked.

"The way you three were drooling just now? Call it a lucky hunch," Martin winked.

Erik's smile only widened and he held up the cover revealing a familiar face, "Then I'm sure you already know your girlfriend Chrissy made the front cover of it, right?"

The Red Ranger took one look and spit out his drink in wide eyed shock. "What?"

The spray of iced tea hit Bharata full-on and the Green Ranger sat frozen in dismay before giving a sigh and wiping himself off. While Martin continued to choke and sputter on his drink, Jake swiped the magazine from Erik, "What? Hold on a minute lads. Are you serious?"

He pointed incredulously to the picture of the cover girl posing suggestively amid the beach and the surf, "The Captain here is dating a celebrity? A super hot celebrity? And you guys know her? How did all that happen?"

Erik scratched his chin, "Well, this past summer there was this really nasty Croc Bot at the Olympics in Rome and…"

"And I think that's enough for today. Thank you Lieutenant," Martin said in embarrassment as he swiftly plucked the magazine from Jake's hand and tried to regain some semblance of his dignity, "Jake… Christina and I aren't officially dating. Right now, it's more like a… uh… special friendship."

Erik and Bharata exchanged an amused look and simply rolled their eyes in silence as Martin continued to try and give a feeble explanation. Before he could embarrass himself any further, Lucy and Ella approached the table and startled him from behind. Ella gave a cheerful wave, "Hey! There you are! Dr. Beckett and I were looking for you guys."

Martin quickly rolled up the magazine and whipped it behind his back just as Lucy cast a confused look over toward him. She quirked an eyebrow at his odd behavior before shaking it off and turning to the others, "Rangers, we'd like you to come to the lab when you're done with your meal. It seems Erin has been busy with something and she wants to give us a little presentation."

"Well this should be interesting. Maybe she's made some major breakthrough on that alien data," Jake mused thoughtfully while rising from the table, "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

As the guys got up and began to head out of the mess hall with Ella and Lucy, Martin took out the magazine again and glanced at Christina's photo on the cover. When no one was looking, he quietly tucked it away into his file folder and followed behind the others wearing a smug little grin. If Erin's presentation turned out to be a boring lecture, he at least had some interesting "reading material" to keep him occupied.

* * *

A little while later, the team gathered in the R&D labs where they met Erin, Julian, and the alien soldier Taldyr. Taldyr sat in a nearby chair with his wrists and ankles still bound as armed guards continued standing close by. The lab tech Julian stood at the opposite end of the lab table beside Erin and she was already beaming with excitement. The Yellow Ranger had some sort of device in front of her which sat on the table obscured by a cover. In all likelihood, it was for some dramatic surprise factor.

"Hey everyone! Thanks for coming!" Erin exclaimed as she waved her friends over and urged them to gather round, "Ever since we started to crack the codes of the Adventi script, I had been thinking of a way to speed up the job and push our weapons development along. With the help of Julian and Tal, I think I've found a way to do that."

Julian wore a half-hearted look on his face while Taldyr sat stoically in his seat and gave a small wave of his hand in acknowledgment. Erin continued proudly, "During my talks with Tal here, he told me something very interesting. Because he was artificially created, he's technically only one year old in human years."

"That's the ugliest one year old baby I've ever seen," Jake sniggered quietly before Martin silenced him with a gentle elbow.

If she had overheard the little quip, Erin ignored it, "That got me to thinking... how on earth do all the new Eidolon clone soldiers learn enough to be able to function as adults so quickly? The answer is... with this!"

She removed the cover and revealed a strange helmet-like device with a visor over the eyes. Bharata studied the helmet curiously for a moment and looked up, "Uh Erin? What is it?"

Taldyr cleared his throat, "That is what my kind refer to as a Conduit... the primary means through which we were directly given the necessary information to carry out our tasks."

Ella crossed her arms incredulously, "Conduit? For real? As in this helmet downloads data directly into your head... like you're some kind of machine."

"In a sense yes," Taldyr said in a calm voice without the slightest trace of irony.

Julian picked up the helmet and showed everyone the interior, "According to Taldyr, these helmets have a way to form links with the neural synapses in our brains. Once a connection is established, the necessary data is filtered through the helmet and safely transmitted into the brain."

"Wow... that's some real mad science right there," Erik exclaimed, "Are you saying if I wanted to instantly learn kung fu or something, you could program that right into my head, like something out the Matrix?"

Everyone gave him a puzzled look before he sighed, "Oh come on guys... it's another classic sci-fi movie from a hundred years ago?"

Lucy waved it off, "Where did you even get this?"

Erin took the helmet back from Julian, "This was actually recovered from that Xeno battle carrier that Martin helped shoot down in Dubai. It had been kinda damaged so Julian and Taldyr cobbled some parts together and made a modified version of this thing."

Dr. Beckett still looked uncertain as she examined the helmet herself, "Erin, are you sure this thing is even safe? And even if it was, what were you going to do with it?"

The Yellow Ranger took the helmet back, "I'm glad you asked. I was planning on downloading segments of the data cache into my head and having it spit back out the translated versions. Since I'm pretty knowledgeable with the alien language, I figured I could sort of act as a filter to get the necessary data to you quicker. Tal already helped update our Adventi database but if we ran that info through those translators, it may take a bit longer."

Julian grimaced, "I don't know Erin, I still don't like this idea too much. I know we're in a hurry to make progress here, but it sounds a little dangerous too."

Erin put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder, "I know Julian, but we aren't going to get anywhere if we don't take some risks too. After all, that's part of our Ranger job description."

"You sound as if you've already tried this thing out before," Ella pointed out skeptically.

"Actually... I did," Erin said matter of factly.

Martin's eyes went wide for the second time that day, "You what? Erin, shouldn't we get the go ahead from General Caldwell first? Or at least run it by the other engineers on the base?"

"Relax Captain. It worked fine before. I thought I could give a little demonstration here, and then make a formal pitch to the General later."

Lucy stayed silent as she stood beside Martin but her facial expression betrayed her misgivings. At the table, Julian plugged a cable from the helmet into a computer console and pulled up some files from the database. As Erin placed the snug fitting Conduit on her head, Julian flipped a few switches to power on the helmet before activating the linkup devices, "All right… download in progress."

Everyone watched in wonder while helmet's lights flashed and blinked and some images passed by on Erin's visor display. After a tense minute, the helmet powered down and Erin removed the Conduit from her head. "Ta da! As you can see, my brain has not been fried."

"Do you feel any different?" Ella asked.

Erin shook her head, "No, but I do feel a little brighter already. Will someone please hand me something to write with?"

Everyone exchanged a puzzled look before Lucy pulled a pencil and a few sheets of paper from her desk and handed them over. The Rangers watched in awe as Erin took the pencil and began to furiously scribble something down on the paper. After another minute, it looked to be a mathematical table of values followed by some engineering diagrams of an advanced circuit configuration.

"Uh guys? Since when did Erin suddenly become a genius in science?" Jake asked curiously.

"I never was," Erin replied absently while finishing the diagrams, "This is all coming from the Conduit. Now... how about someone giving me a parametric inverter?"

Julian reached for one of the lab's spare component parts and handed it over to her along with some tools. The Yellow Ranger amazed everyone again by quickly disassembling the device and putting it back together without stopping to think.

"Wow… I have to admit, that's actually pretty impressive," Bharata said folding his arms, "This stuff isn't Erin's forte but look at her go."

Erin proudly finished her work and held it up to Lucy for inspection. The chief engineer eyed the device carefully before removing her glasses, "I'm astonished Erin. It looks great."

The other Rangers gave some impressed applause while Erin took a small bow, "Thank you, but I couldn't have done it without my trusty partners on this project. Tal provided the specs on the helmet and Julian put it together."

Martin continued to look skeptical, "So you're saying this thing will make the data conversion process easier and quicker?"

"That's the plan," Erin replied, "What do you think?"

"I still think we should run this by Caldwell now and see where it goes."

Erin pumped her fist enthusiastically and offered a high five to Julian. The tech looked over to Taldyr warily and returned the gesture before Lucy cleared her throat, "In the mean time, I think it's best you also get checked out by the medical staff... just in case."

Erik walked over and picked the Yellow Ranger up by the shoulders amid her protests. As he pulled her out the door, he gave a reassuring wink to Lucy, "Don't worry Dr. Beckett, leave that part to me. I'll make sure Erin goes whether she likes it or not."

Ella sighed and shook her head, "Well... I don't know about you guys but I'm starving. I'm headed back to the mess hall for a meal. Anyone else want to come?"

"I could go for another cup of jello," Bharata shrugged, "Count me in too."

As the two walked out of the lab, Jake followed close behind, "Hey Bara… before I forget, where did the magazine go?"

Lucy turned with a questioning look toward Martin but he simply feigned ignorance with an innocent shrug, "I have no idea what they're talking about. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to do some, err... paperwork."

* * *

Over the course of the next several days, Erin got to work downloading blocks of vital information from the Adventi database through the Conduit. General Caldwell gave his approval and the Atlantis Base doctors green-lighted the continuance of the project. After each session and letting the information settle for a while, the stream of data was then reversed and the translated data was successfully extracted back from Erin's mind.

On one particular Saturday afternoon, the Nova Rangers sat in one of the base's rec rooms enjoying their day off. As late November approached, the weather had become chillier outside and the team opted to stay inside rather than take a cold trip out to the West End. In one corner of the room, Erin and Jake were locked in a close game of darts while Bharata lounged on a chair reading a book of poetry. On the couch, Erik sat with Taldyr watching television. Because the alien soldier had behaved and been cooperative during the process to help the Rangers, he had been allowed minimal privileges to walk around the central base and relax in public areas, albeit with armed guards still posted nearby. In a room full of Rangers, it was unlikely he would be able to get away with any trouble as it was.

Taldyr continued to watch the television and frowned, "I still do not understand why you Terrans find this activity entertaining. Instead of wasting this time, my fellow clones and I would still be doing combat drills."

Erik smiled, "Well, sometimes after a long hard day of work and exercise, we just feel like turning our brains off for a while and having some fun. Besides, some television shows and movies can be considered moving pieces of art which touch the soul or have something important to say about society."

"I fail to see what cultural significance Big Brother 110 has," Taldyr noted, "If anything, this reality television program makes a greater case for the Xeno Machina to wipe out your species."

Bharata stifled a laugh, "Point taken. Xenos-1, Humanity-0."

Erik rolled his eyes with a smile before the lounge doors opened and the team was joined by Martin and Ella. The Red Ranger ambled over and handed Erik back a case of dvds, "Thanks Erik, I finally finished watching some of those old Star Trek episodes you recommended. Though I think I'm still kinda torn over who the best Captain was."

Before Martin and Erik could launch into a debate, Ella interrupted and proudly held out a tupperware container filled with pieces of what looked to be a baked Italian tart, "Before those two bore you to death, Taldyr would you like to try some new Italian dessert I made? It's a mixed berry crostata."

Everyone stopped and stared at her as Ella held out the container, "I figured Taldyr must be getting bored with the prison food so why not do something nice to say thank you for his help recently."

Taldyr picked a piece up and took a bite. Everyone waited watching in silence before Taldyr nodded and gave an approving smile, "This is actually very good. Thank you Lt. Catalano."

"Oh good. I'm glad," Ella replied brightly before offering some to the others, "How about the rest of you?"

Bharata carefully took a slice and studied it, "This isn't another one of your experimental recipes … is it?"

"No. I decided to be boring this time and follow my Aunt's instructions," Ella sighed, "Now if we're all going to watch television, can we put something good on while we're at it?"

Erik glanced over, "Permission to change the channel, sir?"

Martin flopped down on the other end of the couch and gave a wave, "Make it so, Number One."

While the others chatted and bantered about, Erin and Jake got back to their competitive dart game. Jake grinned as he squared up and tossed his first dart onto the board on the wall, "Well Erin, it's a good thing Ella's cooking didn't kill your project assistant there. Who knows what we'd do then to recover that alien data, right?"

Erin shrugged and took her shot next, "Oh I dunno, I might still have some of that leftover data still floating around my noggin somewhere. It's hard to think that in just a few days we're almost done with all that now."

Jake gave a thoughtful look and aimed his next throw, "How's it been physically for you? I mean, that must be kinda weird having all that stuff being dumped into your head and then churned around for a while. You've been really pushing yourself lately."

"So far so good," Erin answered as she took her second shot at the board and matched Jake's score. "I mean, aside from a couple minor headaches afterward, it's been nothing a few aspirin and a good night's sleep can't fix."

"Well… for what it's worth, you're a lot braver than I am," Jake said as he tossed his last dart. "I know you've been kinda taking one for the team here, but you shouldn't feel like you have to prove anything to anyone either."

The dart landed in the bulls-eye of the dartboard before Erin stepped up. "I appreciate the concern Jake but like I said, I'm doing fine and I'm happy to push myself a little bit. Just you wait… with any luck, this whole thing will be over in no time flat."

As she raised her dart for her last shot, Erin felt a slight head rush and her vision momentarily blurred. That momentary break in concentration was just enough to cause the Yellow Ranger's last shot to go wide and miss the dartboard completely. The dart hit the wall and clattered to the floor while Erin shook her head and blinked in momentary surprise while she regained her composure. That was a little odd. Whatever happened just now was probably nothing and she decided to quietly dismiss it from her mind.

"As for now, it looks like this game is over," Jake said absently. While he had thought it strange that Erin had just missed her last shot so badly, he didn't really pay it any particular mind either. He collected the darts and held them out to her again, "Do you want to play best out of three?"

* * *

 **A/N:  
Now begins the last major plot arc for the first season of this series. Oh, and i** **n this humble Author's opinion, Best Captain is a tie between Picard and Sisko. ;)**


	41. Brain Drain

**Mission 16: Part 2  
**

Early the next morning, Erin Reilly made her way into one of the main gyms located near the heart of Atlantis Base. She had always liked going to that particular gym because of its large glass windows and airy design. In the morning, it gave the people exercising there a nice view of the sun across the eastern waters… provided you could beat the morning rush.

As she walked in, she smoothed out her yellow tank top and tied her brown hair up before taking her place at a treadmill for a run. Martin and Jake were already on their own treadmills jogging at a fast clip while Erik lifted some free weights and Bharata and Ella stretched out with some yoga in another corner of the room.

"Well look who finally decided to grace us with her presence," Erik teased as he did some curls with a light barbell.

"Be grateful Dobermann," Erin chuckled as she flipped her hair and began to jog, "One does not just roll out of bed looking this hot in the morning."

As she continued to run, Erin looked out the windows and across the ocean while the light of the sun glittered on the surface of the waters. Despite the warm sunlight on her face, it was easy to think that it wasn't another chilly morning. She felt bad for the marines standing at outdoor guard posts today as well as combat pilots flying patrols. As she continued to exercise, Erin let her mind wander and she thought about the upcoming winter holidays. It had been a while since she had been home and Bharata's recent return to Indonesia had only stressed that point. While part of her did want to return and be among her fellow Irishmen, she was also a little reluctant about returning to her family in Dublin.

When she left to join the service, no one back home had ever really expected her to make it, much less become a Nova Ranger. They had been shocked and surprised, and while she knew her parents and her older siblings were all proud of her, she still wasn't sure they exactly approved of her constantly risking life and limb in the fight against the planet's alien enemies. That nagging uncertainty continued to pick at her and while she exercised, she continued the internal debate with herself over when and how to return home.

That was when Erin felt that strange feeling come over her again. She felt another headrush and her vision began to blur, but this time it was more severe. Jake glanced over and saw the Yellow Ranger slow her pace and falter. As she began to slide off the treadmill, the Silver Ranger gasped, "Erin? Hey, are you okay?"

She wobbled a moment as her vision spun and she became disoriented. Jake stopped his own machine and turned his head in alarm, "Captain?"

Moments later, Erin swayed and pitched over sideways to the ground. Before she could hit the floor, she was caught by Martin and Jake who rushed over to her side and laid her down gently.

"Erik!" Martin called in alarm.

The Blue Ranger dropped his weights and ran over to try and check Erin's vital signs. She seemed to have passed out but here and there she convulsed and showed signs of minor muscle spasms. While he checked her breathing and pulse, Erik called over to Ella and Bharata in alarm, "Quick call in a medical team! We've got an emergency here!"

As the whole team scrambled into action to try and get help for their friend, they could only hope that Erin would be okay and they wouldn't be too late.

* * *

 _"Erin... Erin... wake up."_

 _The Yellow Ranger groggily shook her head and tried to focus on what was going on around her. Her head was swimming and she felt like she had cotton in her ears muffling her sense of hearing. She wasn't quite sure where she was was because everything was a bit hazy and foggy around her. She could hear her mother's voice calling her but she was still a bit disoriented. One moment she had been in the gym and now she was lying in this odd foggy place._

 _"Mom?"_

 _Both Mr. and Mrs. Reilly appeared from the mists with crossed arms while disparagingly shaking their heads. Her mother wrung her hands, "Erin. You've lost your way daughter. You should have listened to us. You should have stayed home and took up a job at the university... maybe meet a nice boy and start a family... but you had to be so stubborn."_

 _Her father spoke next, "You think you had to prove something to us by joining the military? By becoming a Ranger? What are you trying to prove? Who are you trying to prove yourself too?"_

 _Her parents disappeared into the mists and Martin startled her from the other side. He wore a stern look and gave a bark, "On your feet Ranger! Who told you that you were allowed to rest? Get up Reilly!"_

 _She scrambled to her feet in confusion, "Martin?"_

 _"That's Captain Sterling to you Lieutenant!" he snapped. He was reminding her of the way that he had been when their squad first formed and he put them through rigorous drill sessions to get them up to scratch. "You think you know me? You think you know everything?"_

 _"What? I... uh... no, sir."_

 _"Really? I'm not so sure about that," Julian chimed in as Martin faded and he appeared from behind walking by while tinkering with a gadget. "If you're trying to not look weak toward your parents or to the Captain, are you trying to prove something to your academic peers? Are you trying to prove that girls can be just as brilliant and capable? Are you trying to be like Dr. Beckett?"_

 _"What? Of course not," Erin sputtered, "I mean... sure I respect Dr. Beckett and think she's brilliant... and I don't want to let Martin and my teammates down either."_

 _Julian fixed her with a questioning look, "Do you think any of us really care about how smart or strong you're trying to be? Do you think I care?"_

 _"What are you talking about?" she said holding her head in confusion._

 _Julian simply shook his head in frustration and walked off into the fog before a bright glare began to light up the Yellow Ranger's field of vision._

That same bright light filled her senses as Erin Reilly cracked open her bleary eyes and gave a quiet groan. She had remembered being in the gym, but now she felt herself lying in a soft bed with a heart rate monitor beeping in steady intervals. She groaned in disorientation and croaked out, "Where am I?"

"Hey everyone… she's waking up," she heard Julian's voice say from nearby.

She blinked again and waited for her eyes to come back into focus before she realized where she was. Erin found herself lying on a bed within the medical ward of Atlantis Base. She had been propped up on some pillows and she watched in bemusement as a whole host of people gathered around. All of her Ranger friends ringed the bed while Lucy and Julian stood with them as well. She glanced over and even saw General Caldwell walk over slowly with a concerned look on his face, "Lieutenant… how are you feeling?"

Erin frowned and shook her head in mild confusion, "Better now, sir… thank you. Uh… what happened? How did I get here?"

"You don't remember?" Ella asked beside her, "You just passed out in the gym earlier. You gave all of us a mild heart attack."

Erin frowned again, trying to put the fuzzy pieces of her recent memory back together, "I don't understand. How did this happen?"

Lucy wore a serious expression and studied Erin's medical chart before adjusting her glasses slightly, "The doctors here did a few scans on you earlier and they have a working theory. They seem to think it has something to do with your little experiments with the Conduit."

What? What about it?" the Yellow Ranger protested.

Lucy grimaced, "They seem to think that something in the Conduit has caused some adverse effects to your brain functioning."

Erin gasped in fear, "What? Like brain damage?"

Lucy cleared her throat, "I ran some more detailed scans of the helmet and it looks like the electronic emitters might have created a certain energy pattern which could be harmful. Your brainwaves have gone into overdrive and it has begun to cause some breakdowns in some of the synapses and neural pathways."

Erik's jaw tightened in concern, "So what you're saying is that Erin's brain is slowly deteriorating... from getting burned out?"

"This can't be happening…" Erin murmured in horror as she did her best not to break down and cry, both from that revelation and the lingering feelings of that dreadful dream.

Ella put a comforting hand over her teammate's while Martin turned to the engineers with a grim expression, "Lucy? Julian? What do we do? Is there a way to fix this?"

Lucy stood in blank silence trying to figure something out before Julian clenched his fists, "We need to talk to Taldyr. He was the one who gave us the original specs on the Conduit and coached us through its construction."

Martin turned to Caldwell, "General?"

Caldwell wore an equally grim expression, "Get the prisoner. We meet in my briefing room in one hour. Let's go people!"

While the Rangers scrambled into action, Julian gave one last look to the distraught looking Erin, "It's going to be okay. We're going to figure something out... the Rangers always do. I'll come back to visit as soon as I can all right?"

Erin simply nodded and laid back down, fearful of what might possibly happen next.

* * *

Later that afternoon, the Rangers, Lucy, and Julian gathered together in the Command Tower's large briefing room as Taldyr was escorted in. His guards led him to the table and then backed off to secure the doorway. Everyone cast silent pointed looks toward the alien soldier and prompted him to glance slowly around the table, "Is there some problem?"

Bharata narrowed his glare, "Yes. There is a problem. Erin is now in the medical ward after collapsing this morning."

"I am sorry to hear that but I do not understand what that has to do with me," Taldyr said.

Caldwell folded his arms, "Think harder. That Conduit device you helped to create? It seems that the helmet has caused harm to Erin. The energy waves emitted by the device have begun causing the breakdown of neurons in her brain."

Taldyr frowned and nodded, "I see."

After a long pause, Julian rose from his seat in agitation, "I see? That's it? That's all you have to say?"

Taldyr pondered the situation for another moment before sighing, "This is unfortunate news. In designing the helmet, there is something I may not have taken into account. The parts of the device used to form direct links with the brain might not have been specifically tailored to human anatomy. It is possible we were using the device in a configuration that was not properly adjusted for your brain patterns."

Julian's eyes went wide, "Hold on, are you saying you should have known then? This whole thing could have been prevented? You basically made me build a device that hurt Erin?"

"She wanted to build the device and use it as well," Taldyr corrected him but the young lab tech surprised everyone by storming over and furiously hauling the alien to his feet. Everyone at the table jumped in shock. In a surprising moment of raw emotion, Julian grabbed Taldyr by the shirt collar and violently slammed him against a nearby wall. Despite the fact that Taldyr was taller and stronger, Julian's ferocity more than made up for his disadvantage in strength and stature, "Damn it, this is all your fault you filthy Xeno! What did you do to her?"

Taldyr tensed and began to try to pry his adversary off of him. "I did not do anything! Let go of me!"

Julian refused to budge and slammed Taldyr back against the wall again, "I don't believe you! This has to be a trick!"

Before the scuffle could get any more violent, Martin and Erik rushed in and broke the fight up, pulling the two combatants off each other. Julian continued to flail and thrash violently a few more times, "Let go of me Captain! You're making a big mistake!"

"Not until you cool down," Martin answered as he forcefully restrained the raging technician.

Erik settled Taldyr and stood as an added human screen in case any more violence would erupt. Despite his level tone, the Blue Ranger spoke with equal forcefulness "All right. Let's all just take a deep breath and calm the hell down."

Taldyr relaxed his stance and nodded, "Thank you Lt. Dobermann."

Martin let go of Julian and fixed the alien with a harsh glare, "You're not off the hook yet Taldyr. The life of one of my Rangers is at stake so you'd better have a damn good explanation for all this."

Taldyr met the icy stares of the Rangers and exhaled slowly. A hint of indignance was clear in his expression, "If you think that I purposely intended to harm Erin Reilly, then you are mistaken. What reason would I have to do that? She has only shown me kindness and compassion."

"Traits that you Xenos aren't exactly familiar with," Ella pointed out with an accusatory tone in her own voice, "Who's to say you weren't trying to take advantage of Erin's kindness and then do her in when she least expected it?"

Taldyr frowned, "If I wanted to cause harm, I would have done so already. Besides, it would have been futile. I am a lone prisoner on this floating island. It would not be difficult for any of you to find me or kill me at any time."

Lucy stood up slowly and moved to calm everyone down again, "Everyone… it's not going to do us any good to sit and point fingers right now. What we need to focus on now is how we're going to help Erin. Taldyr? Do you have any insight?"

The alien furrowed his brow and shook his head, "I am afraid not. My skill with more advanced technology is fairly limited."

Caldwell paced the room restlessly before stopping abruptly, "What if we correct the problem with the Conduit?"

Lucy mulled it over for minute before growing more excited, "Wait… General, I think you might be on to something. The energy waves from the current helmet can't really be adjusted too much, only because of the limits in its design. We had used a damaged piece of tech to begin with and cobbled the rest together. But if we had a fully intact Conduit, we might be able to use it to reverse the effects of the brain drain."

"That's all well and good Dr. B. but where on earth are we going to get another Xeno helmet like that?" Erik asked.

"Not on earth… but the moon," Taldyr corrected him.

Everyone stopped and stared in silence as Taldyr hesitantly put forward an idea, "The Xeno base on the other side of your moon has facilities that grow and train new warriors. If you wanted to get one, that is the place to do it."

"Are you out of your mind?" Bharata exclaimed, "You're suggesting that we fly to the moon, waltz right in to the home base of our enemy, and steal a Conduit from right under their noses? That's suicide!"

"But it might be our only other option," Martin grimaced quietly. "We don't have a lot of time or choice if we want to save Erin."

"Please tell me you have a plan Martin," Ella said in concern.

"It's not a great one, but I'm working on it. General? If we can draft a mission plan for this operation…"

Caldwell nodded grimly, "Say no more Captain. You have a go. Do whatever you have to do."

Taldyr stepped forward, "Rangers… with your permission, I want to be part of the raid. I have knowledge of the moon base's layout and operations."

He sighed and added with a more contrite expression, "Consider this as my own gesture of good faith. Erin had reached out to me and I've seen the kindness among you Terrans too. Please, let me risk myself in order to help you."

Martin gave a grudging nod and turned to Jake. The Silver Ranger glared back at Taldyr, "I'll be watching you Xeno. You raise one finger to betray us and I'll shoot you dead."

Taldyr's jaw tightened but he gave a silent nod of understanding.

Julian rose again and chimed in, "If he's going, then I am too."

Lucy turned with a look of shock, "Julian? Absolutely not! This mission is way too dangerous… even for you!"

Julian ignored her and made his case directly to Martin, "Captain… please. Let me come. Erin is my friend too. If you're going to steal a Conduit, then you're going to need someone with engineering skill on this mission. You need someone that's familiar with the designs."

Martin grimaced as he gave a torn look toward Lucy but Julian continued, "Dr. Beckett is far too valuable to risk on this one. We'll need her here to help fix the helmet for Erin when we return."

The Red Ranger chewed his lip and thought it over before giving a reluctant nod, "All right. Once we organize a plan for the raid, get ready to suit up with us."

"You can't be serious!" Lucy exclaimed indignantly.

Caldwell put a calming hand on her shoulder, "Easy, Doctor. Julian may be right about this. We're going to need you here."

"But…"

Martin took her hand and gave a reassuring squeeze, "I know Luce. I don't like it either, but I promise you that I'll look after him."

As she watched the Rangers and their other allies depart the room, she and General Caldwell could only hope that this desperate gambit of theirs would ultimately be worth it.


	42. Unto the Breach

**Mission 16: Part 3  
**

The next evening, Martin Sterling sat in his quarters taking a video call on the computer while also studying some lunar charts. As he put down his work for a moment, he gave a weary smile to the girl on the screen, "I'm glad you like the scarf Chrissy, and again… I'm really sorry I couldn't make it back in time for your birthday."

On the other end of the line, Christina Lasky draped a fashionable purple scarf around her neck and donned a pair of sunglasses pretending to look like some movie star. While she did, she playfully spoke with a clipped upper class affectation "Quite all right daah-ling. Your gift was still faah-bulous."

The two shared a short laugh before Chrissy removed her sunglasses and studied him for a moment, "Martin? Is everything okay? You've seemed kinda distracted and worried tonight."

"I'm sorry," he apologized as he tossed some flight plan papers aside on his desk, "There's a lot going on here that I can't really tell you about right now."

"Ranger business?"

He nodded, "What I can say is that I'm headed out on a pretty dangerous mission tomorrow… probably the most dangerous one that we've ever undertaken. I guess I'm… well…"

"You're worried that you might not come back?" she asked slowly, "Is it really that dangerous? Is there any other way?"

He shook his head, "No. Someone very important is in trouble and needs our help. We have to do this. I didn't want to worry you about everything, but it didn't seem exactly fair if I wasn't honest either… especially if something did happen to me."

"Well… for what it's worth, I'm glad you're being honest. So thank you," she said quietly. "You know I'm still going to worry, but not too much."

"Oh?" he blinked in surprise, "Why is that?"

Chrissy winked and tried to sound positive, "Well you are the Red Nova Ranger after all so that means you can't die. Isn't that some kind of unwritten rule? Like it's supposed to make you all the more heroic and invincible?"

"I'm not invincible and I'm far from being a perfect hero too," he replied with a self-deprecating snort.

Chrissy waved it off, "Well in my book, it still qualifies you as top notch boyfriend material and... umm..."

She paused before Martin shook his head, "No, it's okay. This is something we should talk about... so that we know where we stand with each other."

"And where is that exactly?" she asked hesitantly.

The Red Ranger sighed and looked to a small framed picture on his wall. It was a photo of the skyline of his own home city of Chicago taken from the waters of Lake Michigan. He looked back to his video screen and tried to give a hopeful smile, "We're in a place where the first thing I'd like to do when I get back is to see you. I know Thanksgiving is coming up and..."

"And I'd love to have you over for it," Christina chimed in, "We could take a few days around Minneapolis, and maybe I could introduce you to my family too... if that's okay and won't freak you out."

"No, it's okay. I'd like that," he said gently, "Maybe after I spend a couple days with my own family back home. Let's plan on doing this if I get back?"

"You mean _when_ you get back," she corrected him, "Promise me you'll return home safely?"

He laughed softly and nodded, "We'll talk soon."

She gave a quiet smile before ending the call. As the transmission ended, Martin glanced back to the lunar charts and the written mission plans on his desk. He would have to get to bed soon, but he knew there was still going to be a lot of preparations left to make if he wanted to keep his promises. He reached for his morpher and sent out a call, "Erik, are you still awake?"

He waited a moment before he heard a yawn on the other end, "I'm here Captain. What's going on?"

"It's about the coming operation and it's important," Martin answered as he leaned back in his chair, "Can you come to my room for a little bit? I've got some specific instructions for your ears only."

"I'm on my way."

* * *

Meanwhile, Erin Reilly lay in her bed within the base's medical facilities. Despite her relatively good health, the doctors had ordered her to stay here under observation in case she had another seizure or fainting spell. If she was honest with herself, it had been a terrifying experience to be walking and talking one moment, then blacking out for several hours and potentially dying. The thought scared her and she was restless to get up and do something, anything to help her teammates right now. She needed something to distract her from all the other thoughts eating away at her at the moment.

She gave a dejected sigh and picked up another one of the books that Bharata had brought her. Between their mission planning, each of her teammates had stopped in to do whatever they could to cheer her up. Bharata had loaned some books to keep her occupied. Erik periodically stopped in to do his own medical assessments and Martin had come just a little while ago to play a few games of cards with her. Even Jake had offered to give her a pack of his cigarettes, but she settled for having him entertain her with some jokes instead.

As Erin tried to get back to her book, she looked up when she heard the nearest door swoosh open. To her surprise, Ella walked in carrying a paper bag in her hands. The Pink Ranger tried to give a cheerful smile as she came over and sat down at her teammate's bedside, "Hey girl, how are you feeling tonight?"

Erin simply shrugged, "Oh you know, aside from some headaches and that horrible seizure... I'm getting by and trying not to look like I'm actually sick or something."

"Well I hope you're not actually feeling too sick because I brought you something to cheer you up," Ella said as she reached into the baggie and handed Erin a large chocolate chip cookie.

The Yellow Ranger eyed the cookie for a moment, "You made this?"

Ella shook her head, "No. I flirted with one of the servers in the mess hall and bribed him to give me a bunch of extra cookies from dinner tonight."

Erin smiled and took a bite of the cookie. As she began to chew and eat the snack, she stopped and gave a small sniffle. She wiped a tear from her eye and took a moment to steady her breathing, "I'm sorry... I just... thank you Ella."

Ella looked to her fellow teammate and consolingly reached out to take her hand, "Erin? What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Erin wiped her eyes again, "I'm sorry... this is so embarrassing right now. It's just that everyone has been extra nice to me here and I feel like I don't deserve it at all."

"Why would you think that?" the Pink Ranger asked in confusion.

Erin sighed and looked away, "Because of what you guys are going to do. What I'm making you do here. Come tomorrow, you and the whole rest of the squad are going to be flying up to the moon on a suicide mission... and it's all because of me."

"Erin, you're our friend and our teammate," Ella began, "You know our unwritten rule. None of us are going to give up on a fellow Ranger or let them die if we can help it. We're a team and that means we'll go to the ends of the earth... or moon to protect one another."

Erin took another bite and sniffled again, "I'm sorry Ella. I don't want you guys to do this. I don't want to be responsible for making you guys throw your lives away."

"We're all choosing to do this of our own free will Erin," Ella said firmly, "Sure we're all scared, but none of us feel it's a waste either. We're more scared of losing you."

Erin turned away and leaned her head on her pillow, "I'm scared too Ella... about what's going on in my head. I hate the thought of possibly losing my mind and slowly going brain dead or something. I don't want to die either. I'm too young! We're all too young."

"No one's dead yet," Ella simply said in a feeble voice as she was at a loss for encouraging words at the moment.

There was a long pause before Erin turned back to her fellow female comrade and said, "Let's just say goodbye now... just in case. So that if something happens to you, you can remember me as I am now... your genius and coherent friend."

"No!" Ella insisted, "It's not happening!"

"What do you mean, no?"

"I mean I'm not saying goodbye," Ella replied stubbornly with surprising forcefulness in her voice, "We're going to the moon and coming back to save your life and that's final. You got that?"

"Ella you're being completely unreasona..."

"Damn it Erin, don't argue with me on this, okay?" Ella said fiercely while looking her friend in the eye.

Erin paused for a long moment before breaking out into a small grateful smile, "I guess I should know better than to fight with you by now. It's impossible to reason with a hot blooded Italian... thank you Ella."

The Pink Ranger relaxed into a small smile of her own before reaching over to give her friend a comforting hug. After letting go, Ella sat back and Erin took a deep breath. The Yellow Ranger touched a book at her bedside and mused aloud, "You know... if my family knew what was going on right now, they'd all be saying I told you so. This is what you get for joining the military. You could have done something safe and become a college professor like your older brother or a lawyer like your big sister."

"Yeah, but I'm sure the stories about what they do for work every day aren't half as exciting as yours," Ella said encouragingly.

Erin snorted, "They probably wouldn't understand. They didn't when I left home and I'm not sure they would now."

"You don't know that. Maybe you can help them understand. When you're well again, you can go home to visit them for a little bit," Ella suggested, "You never really talk much about your family back home."

Erin looked over to her friend, "What do you want to know?"

"I don't know... everything, or anything you want to share."

The Yellow Ranger grimaced, "It's getting late Ella. If you're going on that mission tomorrow, you'd better get to bed and get some sleep."

Ella nodded and sat back comfortably, "I will... but this is important too. If it makes you feel a little better, then we'll stay up and just talk a little while longer."

Erin stopped before giving a grateful look, "Yeah... I'd like that."

* * *

The next morning, the Nova Rangers and their allies assembled in the base's medical ward to give one more round of encouragement to their bedridden teammate. They had suited up in the standard combat uniforms of the UNAF troopers and prepared to head out toward the armory and then the North End's launch bays. After Erik fluffed the Yellow Ranger's pillow, Erin gave a mild huff, "Thanks Erik, but you can stop fussing over me now. I'm fine."

"I know," he said gently, "I just want you to be comfortable until we get back. I promise you'll feel better in no time."

She nodded in gratitude before Bharata and Jake stepped forward to say their goodbyes. Jake put a cartridge of cigarettes on her bed-stand and gave a wink, "Hold on to these for me Lieutenant? When I get back I'll smoke these over a rematch game of darts, yeah?"

"I look forward to it Corporal. Thank you."

Ella took her turn and gave Erin another hug before Martin stepped up and gave his teammate's hand a comforting squeeze, "What's your status Lieutenant?"

"Wishing I could go with the rest of you Captain."

Martin shook his head, "No. Your orders are to hang in there and get well. I promise we'll be back soon. When I took command of this squad, I made a solemn vow to myself that I wouldn't let any harm come to this team. I'm not about to break that promise to myself... or to you."

Erin smiled weakly, "Look at that. I must be rubbing off on you. That almost sounded soft and sentimental... thank you Martin."

As he stepped back and the others made their way out of the ward, Julian was the last to address Erin. The Yellow Ranger looked to him in slight dismay noticing that he was suited up for a field mission, "Julian... this is insane! Don't do this! What do you think you're doing?"

"Making it up to you," he said as he took her hand and spoke with conviction, "I'm just as responsible for what that helmet did to you and I'm going to make things right. You're my friend and you... well, you mean a lot to me. If I can do something to help the Rangers save you, then by God I'll do it."

"Julian..."

"Don't worry Erin. We'll talk again when we get back. I promise," he said as he reached down and surprised her with a kiss on the cheek. He turned and headed out of the ward leaving Erin sitting on her bed in stunned silence.

* * *

After stopping in at the base's armory, the Rangers, Julian, and Taldyr took a monorail to the runways and launch pads of the North End. Upon reaching the hangers, they were directed to a sleek medium shuttlecraft which would get them into orbit and then take them to the moon. While the flight crews made last minute checks and preparations, the Rangers headed up the main boarding ramp to get in to the shuttle. While they did, Martin stopped when he heard Lucy call his name. He turned in surprise and saw her walking out to meet him in front of the boarding platform.

"Lucy? Hey, I thought you were going to be monitoring us from Ops. Is everything okay?" he said in mild concern.

"Everything is fine," she said with an uneasy waver in her voice, "I... I just wanted to see you and the rest of the team off myself. I'm scared and worried... about what's going to happen to the others Rangers, and to Julian, and most of all you."

The Red Ranger stopped and gave a consoling look to his friend and stepped forward putting his arms around her. He spoke softly, "It's okay. I'm scared too. We all are... and I'm sorry about all this. You know there's no other way."

She hugged him back and clung to his uniform, "I know. I just don't want you to go."

They stood there for a long moment holding each other before Martin let go slightly and tried to give her a reassuring look, despite his own misgivings, "You know Luce, you and your equipment have never let me down in the field. I've always had complete trust that you and your gear would protect me. Now I'm just going to ask for you to trust me here and know that I won't let my best friend down either."

Lucy looked to him and nodded forcing herself to give a weak smile in return. Before she let go and stepped back, she hesitated. To his surprise, she reached up gave him a kiss between the lips and cheek, "Hurry back."

He took a breath and gave a resolute nod before heading up the ramp into the shuttle. Upon reaching the cockpit, he found the rest of the team strapped in and making last minute checks. Erik glanced over as the Red Ranger sat down in the pilot's seat and buckled in, "Everything okay boss?"

"I'm fine," Martin replied while putting on a headset and flipping a few switches, "Word of warning, if anyone here calls me bus-driver, I'm going to shoot you myself. Are you guys ready to do this?"

Taldyr sat with a stone faced expression while Julian looked ready to throw up. Ella gave a nervous laugh and raised a timid thumbs up, "Well, I did join the Air Force and I've always wanted to go up into space. Now's as good a time as any, right?"

"Let's be sure to bring Erin home some moon rocks," Bharata added while also trying to put on a brave face.

While the shuttle powered on, the platform that it sat upon was raised from its underground hanger and lifted to a wider runway on the North End of Atlantis Base. As the squad looked out the windows they could see the light of the dawning sun breaking over the horizon. To the east, an ominous dark front of clouds hung over the skies suppressing some of the light and hinted at a possible storm. A few of the base's ground controllers waved their glowing batons guiding the shuttle forward from its starting position while a call came in over the radios, _"Shuttle Ulysses, this is Homestead Tower. You are clear to taxi to runway 3. Position in hold."_

"Homestead Tower, this is Shuttle Ulysses. Roger that. Moving on taxiway," Martin responded as the shuttlecraft began to move forward and angle around to the launch strip.

As they coasted forward, all the Rangers did their best to swallow their fears and anxieties before coming to a halt at the designated point. Martin took a deep breath as he powered the main drive engines and firmly took control of the steering column, "Homestead Tower, Shuttle Ulysses at runway 3, Position Right. Ready."

 _"Roger that. You are cleared for takeoff Ulysses."_

The shuttlecraft shuddered a moment as the main drive engines fired and the vehicle took off down the runway. The squad braced themselves as the shuttle rapidly picked up speed and ascended off the runway into the air. Several moments passed and they quickly gained altitude before leveling off at a cruising level. The Red Ranger flipped a few more control switches and braced himself, "Shuttlecraft Ulysses is clear. Preparing for orbital ascent."

The team within the shuttle gripped their harnesses and held on tight as the shuttle made a steep climb and the secondary booster engines fired, propelling the aircraft higher and higher at rapid speed. Minutes passed and the younger Rangers exchanged nervous looks as the shuttle rattled and shook from all the air turbulence. The clouds faded out the viewport and the blue skies of Earth gave way to darker colors. Martin reached for the control console and eyed the navigation instruments, "Hold on everyone, we're going to feel one more jolt before breaking orbit. Activating inertial dampeners now."

The booster engines of the shuttle gave one more flare and gasp of life as the craft shook. Moments later, everything went calm and quiet while the view outside gave way to the blackness and starry expanse of space. Julian cracked an eye open, "Are we still alive?"

Erik, Ella, and Bharata all got out of their seats and looked out the windows of the shuttle to look at the stars and the blue planet below them. The Pink Ranger was transfixed, "It's so beautiful."

"Attention passengers, this is your Captain speaking. We've just broken from Earth's orbit and are an estimated four hours flight from the moon... and likely certain death," Martin quipped darkly while undoing his own harnesses, "I'm afraid we don't have any in flight movies or meals to serve so we'll just have to settle for prepping our plans and equipment instead."

Erik sighed and gave a shrug, "Well, it could always be worse. We could be flying United Airlines."

* * *

Back on the ground at Atlantis Base, Lucy Beckett made her way into the medical ward to check in on Erin. She carried a bag full of items and approached the beds as the nurses finished their rounds. The Yellow Ranger looked up in surprise from where she was doing some work on a datapad. "Oh, Dr. Beckett. I didn't expect to see you."

Lucy raised an eyebrow questioningly, "Yes, and I thought you weren't supposed to be working right now. You should be resting instead."

Erin shrugged and put down the datapad, "I know, but I figured if my team is going up to the moon right now, I might as well try to do something useful too. I'm working on translating the last of the data cache the slow old fashioned way."

As Lucy sat down on the bed she put down the bag. Both young women gave a sigh as if both understanding that they shared in the worry over the other Nova Rangers. Finally Lucy reached in the bag and pulled out a bottle, "Well Erin, I decided to get you something to cheer you up."

Erin took the bottle in surprise and examined it, "Irish Whiskey eh? I don't know what to say Doc. Thank you."

"No need to say anything," Lucy replied as she pulled two shot glasses from her bag and put them on the bed-stand, "Given the circumstances, I think we could both make use of it."

Erin hesitated, "Uh... Are you sure it's okay here in the medical ward? How did you even get that in here?"

Lucy winked and touched her ID badge, "That's the benefit of having a high security clearance. No one asks me questions when I walk around the base."

Erin laughed, "Okay, but I thought you didn't drink either Dr. B."

"I don't," Lucy admitted as she opened the bottle and poured out two shots, "But I think I'll make an exception this one time."

Erin took her glass and gave a grateful little nod, "Thanks Dr. B. Here's to our Rangers... and their safe return home."

They clinked glasses and Erin downed her drink in a single motion. To Erin's great amusement, Lucy swallowed her shot and then wrinkled her features in disgust. She gave a sputtering cough, "Ugh... vile. That's definitely enough for me."

Despite the dire situation and the danger that her friends were now flying into on her behalf, Erin Reilly couldn't help but reply to Dr. Beckett with a moment of bright light hearted laughter. She appreciated the gestures of her friends because in a moment like this, it really made all the difference.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **All right, just like the Rangers here, I'm going to try to go full throttle with the next three chapters to close out the series first half. You readers have been so awesome for staying with it so stand by for a new chapter each day. You guys earned it! :)**


	43. The Lion's Den

**Mission 16: Part 4  
**

A few restless hours had passed as the shuttlecraft Ulysses cruised along toward the moon. Long ago, manned spacecraft used to take days to reach the moon but with modern advancements in space flight and drive engines, the commute for most small ships was only four hours at the most. During that time, the Nova Rangers and their allies made use of the lull to prepare for their daring raid on the forward base of their alien enemies. Before the shuttle had launched, several crates with special equipment had been loaded including seven suits of Eidolon armor and corresponding battle gear. During their wait, the seven of them changed into the form fitting alien suits which had been recovered off dead clone soldiers in previous battles.

Ella wrinkled her nose in distaste as she tried to move and adjust to the female battle suit she had been issued. Like her male comrades, she was finding that they had to adjust to the clone soldiers' slightly different build and one size fits all approach toward equipment. As she continued to stretch, Erik noted her discomfort and gave a teasing grin, "Relax Ella. It looks good on you."

"Really? I think it stinks," she muttered.

"I'm not surprised. There was a dead person in that suit," the Blue Ranger pointed out.

Ella glared at him while the other men in the shuttle stifled their laughter. She simply gave a quiet huff and continued to fidget, "Well, I still don't like it… it's tight and this suit is crushing my boobs too."

The male Rangers paused again in mildly awkward silence, uncertain how exactly to reply to that before Taldyr saved them all and changed the subject, "This ship… the Ulysses. I am not familiar with the name."

Bharata chimed in from a corner where he had been in quiet meditation, "It's named after a mythical hero. The people of ancient Greece called him Odysseus."

"Well… I guess it's fitting," Julian murmured quietly while looking out one of the windows to the starry expanse outside, "He was one of the few legendary heroes who journeyed into the Underworld and lived to tell about it. God knows we're kinda doing the same thing here too."

"And we'll survive too," Martin said as he headed back toward the cockpit controls, "Just remember why we're doing this. Everyone, you'd better get seated again and strap in. We'll be reaching lunar orbit in just a few minutes."

Everyone did so and got settled in their seats, but their blood froze as they looked out the shuttle's front window and saw several smaller Xeno warships patrolling the sector. The warships immediately changed course and moved to intercept the lone shuttle. The Rangers all put on the helmets of the Eidolon troopers to mask themselves and foil the enemy biosensors before Martin turned to Taldyr, "All right, everyone remember the plan. Just stay calm and let Taldyr do the talking."

A warning shot was fired across the bow of the shuttle before the speed of the Ulysses slowed and Martin gave a nervous gulp while holding his course steady. Taldyr frowned and looked to the Red Ranger, "Do not be afraid. Stay on course and fly casually."

Martin exhaled nervously while gripping the controls, "Right... fly casually he says."

Taldyr took a spot at the copilot's position as their shuttle was hailed by the alien spacecraft. Thanks to Erin's universal translators which had been brought along, the Rangers were able to make sense of the other clones, "This is the captain of the Umbra. Identify yourself Terran vessel."

Taldyr got on the comms and replied, "Umbra, this is Lieutenant Taldyr of the Dubai Expeditionary Force. My troops and I have hijacked a Terran shuttle and are returning to base. Requesting immediate assistance."

There was a long silence before the Xeno captain answered, "The Dubai Expedition? Where is Commander Decimus?"

"He died in battle. I am the last remaining officer of that force," Taldyr continued calmly, "I will transmit my authorization codes. Stand by."

The Rangers watched and waited in silence as Taldyr typed some codes into the comms and transmitted them to the Xeno patrol craft. After another agonizing wait, they got their reply, "Your codes check out Lieutenant. Welcome back. We will escort you to the lunar base."

"Acknowledged," Taldyr nodded as the radio channel cut out.

The humans all gave a sigh of relief as the Xeno ships turned and cruised ahead of them, leading the shuttle to their base of operations. Jake nervously cracked his knuckles, "I'll be damned... they bought it. This ruse might actually work. Nice one Taldyr."

"Remember it is only going to become more difficult once we infiltrate the base," the Xeno said flatly, "We will not have much time so we need to stay inconspicuous and work quickly."

"That means we follow Taldyr's lead on the ground. He's going to be the one who knows the way," Martin said as he idly steered a course and flew the shuttlecraft into the dark side of the moon. The cabin was plunged into blackness save for some low powered lighting in the cabin and the sensors used to navigate.

"I'm still not totally sure. Are you sure we can really trust him?" Julian asked.

"At this point in the game, I'm afraid we don't have much choice mate," Jake replied trying to sound reassuring.

As they made their way around the moon, the Rangers all looked out and saw the scope of the large base below them on the lunar surface. The large Xeno mothership had landed and formed the central hub of the base while a few smaller carrier ships that had been damaged in the first fleet battle lay adjoined to the central craft. In a way, the configuration almost resembled the connecting spokes on a wheel. Despite the darkness of that half of the moon, the facilities were lit, albeit with a dim light. Life support systems were not a major concern for most of the Xeno Machina so power generated for that purpose was kept at a bare minimum.

A few new messages in alien text showed up on the main console and Taldyr translated them, "Captain, they're giving us landing instructions and docking codes. Take the shuttle down to the second landing pad on the right there."

"All right. This is it. We're only going to get one shot at this so remember the plan," Martin said as the shuttle touched down gently on the enclosed landing pad. As the docking clamps locked down and a connection hatch was brought out, the Rangers and their allies all kept their helmets on to conceal their identities.

"I can't see a damn thing in these helmets," Jake grumbled as he tried to adjust his gear and get a better peripheral view. "And I'm not a big fan of using these Xeno weapons either."

Erik shook his head, "Get used to it Corporal. We have to blend in for now. We're only going to use our morphers if things get really dicey… which they probably will at some point."

"Positive thinking big guy. Mind over matter, remember?" Bharata tried to offer helpfully.

The Red Ranger cleared his throat and gestured to some portable cases in the shuttle's hold. "Okay, let's remember to take those cases of explosives and plant them correctly. Erik, you're in charge of the demolition team. Bara and Jake, you two go with him and follow his instructions. Erik, do you remember my other orders that we spoke about in private last night?"

"Yes sir. I'll know what to do," the big German airman nodded as he picked up a case of explosives, "Good luck Captain."

Martin nodded, "Julian and Ella, you two are with me. Taldyr will take us to the cloning facility and we'll grab a Conduit helmet there. From here on out, Taldyr will take the lead in talking and we defer to him."

As the airlock began to open, Taldyr gave a nod, "Thank you Captain. Your trust in me has not been misplaced."

The Rangers watched silently as a group of Eidolon soldiers entered the shuttle with their spear blaster weapons at the ready. Once they had secured the door and made a quick sweep, they stopped upon seeing Taldyr and the disguised Rangers.

"I trust everything is in order?" Taldyr prompted patiently while offering a small Xeno identification badge to prove his identity.

The leader of the boarding party eyed the badge carefully before giving a slow nod. He turned to some of the cases in the hold. "Welcome back Lieutenant. What's all this?"

Taldyr waved it off, "When we took this vehicle, we seized some Terran weapons and technology in the hold. I plan to bring this to our labs for further study."

The Xeno guard nodded again and relaxed his stance, "Very well sir. We will take it from here."

"No," Taldyr said authoritatively, "I will have my troops do it. They have been through enough and I want them to gain a little extra glory by personally delivering the spoils of victory from their human foes."

The guard nodded again and backed off, "As you wish sir. I have been instructed to advise you that Warmaster Hellspont wishes to personally debrief you himself. I would not make him wait too long."

Taldyr nodded, "Of course. Thank you trooper."

He gestured to the Rangers and gave a brisk wave, "Now get to work, all of you! This is no time to relax!"

The Rangers exchanged uneasy glances before picking up some of the small containers and walking off the shuttle. As they walked from the gate, they followed Taldyr down a long dimly lit corridor. It wound a round a few times and the humans all sucked in their collective breaths when they passed a few Eidolon soldiers and worker drones. Eventually, they came to a fork in the corridor and Taldyr gestured down one hallway, "That way leads toward the base's power generators and communications array. Just follow the route I marked for you on your datapad maps."

Martin stopped to reach out and shake Erik's hand firmly, "Good luck Lieutenant. We'll see you back here soon."

"We won't let Erin down sir," the Blue Ranger answered before picking his crate of explosives back up. With that, he and his team hurried down the branching hallway to their destinations.

Taldyr waited for a moment before titling his head toward the other hallway, "Everyone, follow me… this way."

* * *

Erik Dobermann Jr. led his team down the dimly lit hallways and tried to move as fast as they could with their explosive cargo. While Martin and the others would go after the Conduit, Erik and his team were in charge of rigging explosives to confuse the Xenos and disable their systems allowing them to make an escape when the time came. From time to time, Erik would stop to check a small diagram of the base that Taldyr had given him. So far so good. His only major concern was getting questioned by any other Xenos or presented with coded challenges.

As they made their way around the bend, they came upon the terminal rooms controlling the base's communications and power generators. At the moment, the hallway was empty save for two Eidolon guards posted outside one of the generator rooms. Erik nodded to his comrades and prepared something from his supply pouch before they approached together. Upon reaching the door, the guards blocked their way, "Halt. State your business here."

"We're here to do some routine maintenance work," Erik answered calmly causing the guards to turn to each other in confusion.

"I don't remember any maintenance crews being scheduled to come today."

Bharata and Jake swiftly grabbed the troopers and slammed their heads back against the wall before Erik stepped up and pricked the aliens under the chins of their helmets with syringes. It only took a few moments for the powerful sedatives to take effect and the comatose guards slumped over. The three Rangers quickly entered the generator rooms and dragged the guards bodies away behind some equipment crates to hide them. While Jake restrained the troopers' arms and legs, Erik handed Bharata a satchel of explosives, "All right Bara, you know what to do. The communication relays should be located in the room just down the other hall. One to the left."

The Green Ranger nodded and pointed to his stealth feature button his morpher, "They won't know what hit them sir. I'll be back before you know it."

Erik took up his own satchel charges and looked to the Silver Ranger, "All right Jake, let's go. We don't have a lot of time."

As they picked up their bombs and began to sneak through some of the passageways of the generator room, Jake eyed his comrade, "I thought you were a medic sir? Since when did you know how to wire explosives too?"

Erik grinned quietly and waved the younger Ranger on, "You'd be amazed at what other handy things they teach you in Special Forces training. You never know when they come in handy. Now let's get a move on."

* * *

Meanwhile, Taldyr led his group of four out from the hall and around a large concourse ringing the outer side of the central command ship's hub. The Rangers could only gawk at the large impressive interior of the ship. On one hand it was wide and cavernous, but at the same time it was cluttered with pipes, circuitry, and machinery. There was a sort of strange order to the seeming chaos while other soldiers and horrific cybernetic drones shuffled about with their duties. In a way, it was almost like being inside the vital organs of some kind of living mechanical creature. Roboticized aliens of other conquered races passed by like zombie automatons. Like most other drones, they were fitted with extensive mechanical implants and they paid the "Eidolons" little mind.

"Come along," Taldyr said quietly as he continued to lead the way. Martin, Ella, and Julian followed closely and continued to eye their surroundings in complete dread. "Remember this pathway just in case of an emergency."

Eventually, they made their way around the platforms until they came to a new part of the ship leading to the cloning facilities. Upon entering that sector of the base, they came to one of the rooms dedicated to that function. The team was immediately confronted by two drones standing watch over some birthing tubes lining one wall. To the Rangers' horror, they could see developing humanoid figures within the vats connected to tubes and cables. They floated in a strange liquid that helped promote growth and provide nutrients and every so often, the tubes would bubble.

"This is sick and twisted," Julian muttered in dread as he continued to stare at the artificial humanoids being grown. Along the other end of the wall, there were several more matured specimens which were connected to Conduit helmets and attached to the wall. They all appeared inert and comatose while being inundated with controlled doses of information used to train and indoctrinate them.

One of the science drones who was in charge of maintaining the room turned curiously, "Lieutenant. Are you lost? Is there anything I can do for you?"

Taldyr quickly turned his blaster spear on the servitor and fired right into its chest, "I need you to stay down."

As the drone collapsed with a smoking crater in its chest, the other guard drones moved to intercept but Martin and Ella used their own Xeno spears to fire several energy bolts into the torsos of those guards. The moment they collapsed, Martin hurried to the door and shut it, "All right, let's get to work. Ella, start planting some of those charges. Julian and Taldyr, get on those Conduits."

While the Red Ranger guarded the door and kept watch, Ella emptied out a case and began planting C-4 explosives around the room. Meanwhile, Taldyr punched in a few codes in a wall console which allowed Julian access to one of the matured clone soldiers. Julian fumbled nervously with some tools for a moment before going to work on the base cords connecting the Conduit helmet to the wall. A couple tense minutes passed before Julian severed the connection of the Conduit and freed the helmet. Unfortunately, the sudden jolt and disruption sent a shock through the clone and killed it. As Julian slowly removed the helmet, Taldyr grimaced and put a compassionate hand over the dead clone's forehead.

"Forgive me brother… for what I've done, and for what I'm about to do."

As the Rangers regrouped in the room, Taldyr threw himself on Martin and began to put him in a headlock. The alien drew a Xeno pistol and put it to the Red Ranger's chin while Ella and Julian froze in shock. "Both of you, leave this place right now!"

Ella reached for her morpher at her wrist, "Taldyr? What the hell are you doing? Why?"

"I knew it! I knew he was a traitor! He couldn't be trusted!" Julian cried in alarm as he held the case containing the newly recovered Conduit helmet.

"Forgive me. I have my reasons for doing this," Taldyr answered shooting at the ground by the Pink Ranger's feet to force her back. "Go now! Take your Conduit and leave! I will take your Captain."

"Do what he says Lieutenant. Save yourselves and get back to the shuttle," Martin grunted while trying to break free of the Xeno's choking grip.

"To hell with that! I'm not leaving you Martin!" Ella cried in outrage.

"Ella!" Martin answered sharply, "The success of this mission hinges on this very moment. Please… just trust me. Secure the shuttle and wait for Erik. That's an order."

Ella gritted her teeth with a conflicted look on her face. She didn't want to leave her friend and leader behind, but he was trusting her. He had said before she was a good soldier and he trusted that she'd always follow his orders. She didn't know what was going on or why, but she had a job to do and protecting Julian was now her responsibility.

She stood down and nodded grimly before putting her helmet back on, "Come on Julian. We're going."

"What? Why?"

The Pink Ranger gave him a push toward the door, "Now's not the time. Just go!"

As the two made their escape, Ella gave one more worried look before heading back toward the halls leading back to the shuttle. Once they were gone, Taldyr growled, "You're a fool Captain Sterling. You must know I'm going to take you to Warmaster Hellspont myself."

Martin smiled defiantly, "Good. I'm counting on it."

As a group of Xeno guards rushed into the room after hearing the sounds of weapons fire, Taldyr switched the mode of his blaster to stun and shot Martin in the back. As the electrically charged pulse dissipated, the Red Ranger collapsed face-first in an unconscious heap on the floor. The other Xenos paused and stared at the intruder in shock before Taldyr looked up at them with a smug smile, "What are you all waiting for? Pick that Terran scum up off the floor. We're going to give the Warmaster a little gift."


	44. The Great Escape

**Mission 16: Part 5  
**

Ella Catalano walked quickly down the hallways of the sprawling Xeno mothership with Julian following close behind. As the Pink Ranger made her way past alien soldiers and drone workers, she remained silent letting the only sounds she made come from her boots on the deck plating underneath. As they moved at a brisk but not too hurried pace, Ella could swear she felt her heart beating out of her chest, She had to get back to the shuttle and possibly take on a few guards there, but she also felt conflicted knowing her teammate Martin was likely in mortal peril from the traitorous Taldyr as well.

The two backtracked their steps until they reached the entryway to the underground lading pad where their shuttle was taken. She gripped her blaster spear and gave a slow nod to Julian as he clung to the box containing their own valuable cargo, the new Conduit helmet. As they made their way onto the outer landing pad, Ella could see a small control booth off to the side which likely operated the hanger doors above as well as the docking clamps which kept the shuttle in place. Even if she morphed now, it would still be problematic to fight all the clone soldiers here because it was bound to raise an alarm. For now, she'd have to keep on with the subtle route. Both she and Julian made their way up the boarding ramp of the shuttle before they were stopped by two Eidolon guards.

"Halt! What do you think you're doing?"

Ella exchanged a quick look with Julian before speaking, "We're picking up a few extra items from the shuttle. They had been misplaced."

"We were told by our sergeant not to let anyone on this shuttle until it was inspected by the science drones," one of the guards growled.

Ella didn't let them intimidate her and stood her ground, "We were given direct orders by Lieutenant Taldyr and he said it was very important. Unless you want your sergeant dragged into this, you'll let me pass. I'm sure he won't be happy having you waste his time."

The guards stepped aside grudgingly, "Proceed, but we will escort you while you are aboard."

"Fine. Let's go," Ella huffed as she led them up the ramp and into the cargo hold. Once they were inside, Ella gestured Julian toward the corner, "Go set that crate down over there."

As Julian complied, Ella turned on the nearest guard and swung her spear weapon around, cracking the skull of one Eidolon trooper. As he staggered in surprise, Ella leveled the blaster end and shot him point blank. The trooper flew backwards into the bulkheads and slumped over leaving a blue bloody smear down the wall. Without wasting a second, Ella turned on her heel and shifted her stance to deliver a roundhouse kick to the head of the already stunned second trooper. As he fell, the Pink Ranger finished him off with a blaster bolt to the back.

Julian could only stare in shock at the deadly but efficient ferocity of Ella as she pulled off her helmet and smoothed out her mussed hair with a satisfied nod. The relief only lasted a moment as one last Xeno emerged from the front cabin of the shuttle. They hadn't expected anyone else would be aboard and were caught flat footed. The Xeno turned his blaster spear on the startled Pink Ranger and fired but Julian jumped in the way and pushed her aside. Ella fell over in shock and raised her weapon to fire back at the last alien in the hatch. The bolt struck the Eidolon in the head and the trooper spun sideways before collapsing.

The Pink Ranger took several breaths and turned in horror upon seeing her fellow comrade beside her. Julian lay on the deck moaning in pain where a smoking blaster wound continued to sizzle from his side. It looked like he had been hit just above the pelvis and just under the tip of his lower left ribcage. Fortunately the armor had absorbed some of the blast, but he looked to be in pain and Ella didn't have the medical training to assess the wound. "Oh no. No, no, no. Julian… are you okay?"

He moaned softly, "Ella… am I going to die?"

She shook her head and put a reassuring hand to his cheek, "No. You saved my life so now we're going to do the same. You're one of us, remember?"

"I'm not a Ranger Ella," he groaned.

"No, but after what you did just now, you'd certainly qualify. Now lie still and rest. I'll get help and make sure you can save Erin's life too. Okay?"

Julian nodded weakly and lay back while sucking in air to cope with the pain. Ella headed back toward the boarding ramp and stopped when she saw Erik, Bharata, and Jake enter the hanger and morph. "What the…"

The Blue Ranger pulled his blaster pistol and fired at two guards standing nearby and dropped them, "Let's light em up boys!"

Bharata sprinted around the teams flank and drew his glowing Nova Striker blade. Using the advantages of his momentum and natural agility, he tumbled toward three Xeno drones nearby and effortlessly cut them down. Meanwhile, the Silver Ranger pulled his own Fusion Striker in rifle mode and aimed it at the control booth where two more clone troopers were holed up. He fired once and the bolt shattered the glass, striking the first Xeno in the throat. As the alien slumped over on the control panel, his comrade scrambled to shove him off and hit the emergency alarm. He never had a prayer. Jake swiftly lined up a second shot and used his uncanny sniper's aim to gun down the last trooper.

"Nice shooting Jake," Erik said giving the younger Ranger a pat on the back while they approached the shuttle ramp. Ella hurried out in relief and grabbed the Blue Ranger by the arms.

"Erik! Thank God you're here! Hurry! Julian's been shot!"

Erik immediately powered down and shot a look to the two other male Rangers, "Both of you stay here. Bara, wire the last of our explosives to the shuttle's docking clamps. Jake, if anything comes through that hanger door, I want you to shoot it in the face."

Jake powered down and took up a sniping position on the ramp. He kept his Fusion Striker primed and went for a cigarette in his supply pouch, "Yes sir! Sounds like my kind of job."

Ella led Erik into the shuttle and handed him a medkit as he bent down to examine Julian. He quickly went to work probing the wound and then cleaning it, "Well now… it doesn't look like it hit any vitals, but it's still deep. Sit tight Julian, you're going to be okay now."

Ella hung off Erik's arm as he continued working on stabilizing the injury. He spoke idly, "All our C-4 has been planted. Did you get the helmet?"

"We did," Ella sighed, "But Taldyr turned on us. He took Martin hostage."

Erik simply nodded, "Hmm, I see. Everything is going according to plan then."

The Pink Ranger reared back in surprise, "What? What the hell are you talking about? Martin is danger! We have to try and help him!"

Erik shook his head and rose to his feet. He walked over to a small platform shaped device which was in the corner of the cargo hold and connected it to a datapad to be used as a control device, "Martin and Taldyr made a commotion to draw more guards off their posts for us. The two are staging an act to reinstate Taldyr."

"What?" Ella blinked incredulously, "I thought he was on our side."

Erik nodded, "He is. Taldyr's going to spy for us behind enemy lines. He said he also wants to try and talk other clones into starting a rebellion and defecting over to our side. If Hellspont is going to trust Taldyr in returning to their ranks, they had to make everything look real and have Taldyr appear to still be a loyalist in front of the others."

"What does this device have to do with saving Martin?"

Erik handed her the datapad, "This is a portable short-range transporter. It's locked on to his morpher and when he gives the signal, you beam him back so we can get the hell out of here."

Ella glanced at the datapad, "Okay… but what's the signal?"

The Blue Ranger smiled and put a reassuring arm around her shoulder, "Trust me, you'll know when it's time."

* * *

Warmaster Hellspont waited patiently in a wide spacious gallery of the Xeno flagship's command deck looking out over the lunar landscape. As a nearby hatch opened, he watched as Taldyr entered followed by a large platoon of Eidolon guards. As they approached, the Warmaster saw the Red Nova Ranger being dragged roughly by several of the guards. Having been offended by him wearing clone trooper armor, the guards had removed his disguise, leaving him exposed in his blue UN military undershirt and slacks underneath.

The Warmaster folded his hands behind his back and watched in cool amusement as Martin was unceremoniously dumped before his feet. The guards circled around and held their weapons at the ready cutting off any means of the Ranger's escape. As he was just starting to recover from the effects of the stun blaster, Martin slowly rose to his knees and looked up to see his mortal enemy, the Xeno general who had murdered his former team.

Hellspont grinned, "Captain Martin Sterling… at last we meet again, this time in person."

Martin slowly recovered to his feet and glanced around at the horde of Xeno soldiers surrounding them, "I've got to say Hellspont, you look like you've really let yourself go. That remote control droid I fought looked a lot scarier than you do now."

The Warmaster's lip curled into a sneer, both amused and enraged at the Ranger's defiant insult. "I don't know whether you're incredibly brave to come here, or incredibly stupid."

"What does it matter now? I'm here, aren't I?"

Hellspont turned to Taldyr, "How did this happen Taldyr? Were you working with this Terran?"

Taldyr shook his head, "No. After the defeat of Commander Decimus, I was captured. This Ranger forced my troops and I into taking him back here. He made me lie about stealing that shuttle and forced me to fly it here at gunpoint."

"And why did you?" Hellspont asked. "Eidolons are bred to be proud soldiers. You should have had no reservations about dying."

Taldyr kept his gaze steady, "I felt I would do more good if I could continue to serve Warmaster. You said yourself that I am special and I saw a way to deliver one of your enemies to you."

"Then where are the other Rangers?" Hellspont demanded.

"I came here alone," Martin interrupted, "You and I have unfinished business Hellspont. I honestly don't give a damn about Taldyr or his troops. He was my way in here to find you… so I took it."

"You expect me to believe that?" Hellspont scoffed incredulously.

"You didn't think I'd have the stones to come all this way to face you in person on your own ship. Whatever happens, a great blow will be struck on either side. Either the Xenos lose their Warmaster, or the Terrans lose their Red Ranger."

"You actually think you can dictate the terms of a fight? That you have any leverage here?" Hellspont asked.

Martin smiled, "I'm calling you out right here in front of all your men. You wouldn't want to lose face now… would you?"

The Warmaster growled as the Red Ranger continued to defiantly goad him, "Of course, you could just make this easy on yourselves. Tell your troops to lay down their arms. You can all surrender to me and I'll take you to General Caldwell. He's a pretty reasonable guy and probably won't have too many of you executed."

Hellspont ground his teeth in fury before gesturing to two menacing battle drones standing nearby, "Kill him."

The two humanoid drones both drew large fearsome axe weapons that powered on to show jagged whirring chainsaw teeth on the blade edge. As they advanced, Martin swiftly morphed and held his ground, sizing them up. Moments later, both drones sprung to try and saw him in half with their chain-axes but the Red Ranger swiftly drew his blaster pistol from his holster first. Like a cowboy gunslinger, he fired a pair of snap shots from the hip that struck the drones in the head, instantly killing them. As both drones collapsed to the ground, Martin twirled his pistol and trained it on Hellspont but the other Eidolon guards raised their own blaster staves menacingly forcing a new standoff.

Hellspont continued to watch the sight unfold, seemingly unperturbed. He slowly raised a hand urging his troops to lower their weapons and stand down. "You are arrogant beyond belief Red Ranger, but you are amusing. I will enjoy killing you slowly."

The Warmaster drew his own vibroblade and ignited it with energy. He prepared to step forward and wade into battle himself but Martin shook his head. The Ranger produced a small remote detonator forcing everyone to stop in their tracks. Hellspont glared at the Ranger furiously, "What is the meaning of this?"

Martin holstered his pistol while keeping his other hand on the detonator, "By the end of this war Hellspont, you and I will fight… and I will kill you. But not today."

The Red Ranger glanced quickly to Taldyr and the Xeno soldier gave an almost imperceptible smirk and nod of the head. The Ranger hit the trigger and the explosives which the Rangers had laid at various points around the alien base went off. Several loud explosions echoed in the halls causing massive chaos, damage, and confusion among the aliens. While sections of the base rattled, power was lost to several decks and facilities while the communications grid went down as well.

Before the Warmaster or his guards could process what happened, they stared in shock as the Red Ranger was locked into a transporter field and teleported away from the room. Hellspont slashed at one of the ship's bulkheads and roared in a blind fury, "Find that Ranger! Bring me his head!"

Moments later, Martin found himself back in the hold of the shuttle. After rematerializing, he stumbled off the platform and gave a sigh of relief. "Perfect timing."

Ella dropped the datapad and rushed over, throwing her arms around him in relief, "Captain! I'm so sorry about leaving back there! Why did you keep that plan secret? You scared the hell out of me!"

Martin gave a surprisingly gentle smile as he hugged her back and gave her a little kiss on the side of the head, "I'm really sorry about all that Ella. I had to make it all look real for everyone. I still think you did great today."

As he let of her, he turned to Erik and the two friends clasped hands, "Erik, great work as well. What's our status?"

Erik led them toward the front of the shuttle, "Docking bay is secure and we have the Conduit. Julian took a blaster shot, but he'll live. Bara and Jake are holding the hanger and ready to blow the docking clamps on your orders."

"All right then. Call them in. Let's get the hell out of here."

Erik reached for his morpher and sent out a call, "Bara? Jake? Let's pack it up. It's time to go!"

Outside in the hanger bay, Bharata nimbly did a spider climb and rolled up the side of the shuttle ramp amid a hail of blaster fire from enemy troops that begun to flood in through the main doors. Several battle drones and Eidolons forced their way through and took cover, having been pinned down by Jake's sniper fire.

The Silver Ranger quickly switched the mode of this rifle to fire its special ricochet bursts and aimed for the walls behind some of the enemies taking cover. He squeezed off a few shots and watched as the bolts zoomed by and bounced off the floors and walls. The ricochet fire bounced about in dazzling geometry and struck down a handful of clone troopers who were trying to advance and take cover behind some supply barrels.

Bharata held out the end of the long central fuse of the explosives that he wired on the shuttle clamps, "Got a light Corporal?"

Jake grinned and pulled a lit cigarette from the corner of his mouth. He used his lit smoke to ignite the fuse before packing his rifle away, "You heard Lieutenant Dobermann. Let's take our leave."

As the two Rangers scrambled back inside and got situated, the Ulysses powered on while the hanger doors above opened up. Several clone troopers who remained on the ground continued to fire at the shuttle, but their small arms fire did very little against the shuttle's shields. The Red Ranger flipped a few switches and keyed in some startup commands of the spacecraft, "Gentlemen, if I'm going to get this bird airborne, I need to know if those docking clamps have been taken care of."

As if on cue, several explosions were heard from below as the C-4 destroyed the clamps and freed the ship. Bharata exchanged a fist bump with Jake and nodded, "That would be a big yes, Captain."

Having decided not to waste any further time, the Ulysses powered on and ascended quickly into the air, out of the underground hangers and into the lunar sky. While chaos still reigned in the Xeno central base, the shuttle's main drive engines flared to life and the Ulysses took off at full speed to escape lunar orbit and the threat of alien pursuers.

* * *

The Ulysses continued to roar through space at full speed trying desperately to reach the safety of planet Earth. With the communication relays of the Xeno base temporarily knocked out, the Rangers breathed a sigh of relief as they slipped past the alien patrol ships guarding the moon's airspace. Still, they knew it wouldn't be long before they figured out something was off and the Rangers wanted nothing more than to build as much of a lead as they could before the other Xeno ships would try to chase them down. Right now, they were pushing the engines at full effort at the expense of most other systems on the craft.

While Martin flew the shuttle and navigated, he turned and glanced into the rear of the shuttle where Erik was treating Julian and trying to keep him comfortable. The tech gave a low moan as Erik applied some fresh bandages and antiseptic gels. "How's our patient Dobermann?"

"He's stable, but we should really get him back to Atlantis Base sir," the Blue Ranger answered while giving Julian a small dose of morphine to dull the pain. Julian gave a sigh and tried to touch the blaster wound near his hip but Erik kept him still. Martin nodded and turned back to the helm control, "Ella, take shotgun here and work the secondary systems. I need you to reroute all available power to our engines and shields."

"Are you sure? I'm not exactly an engineer here," the Pink Ranger said hesitantly while taking her seat.

"You're the closest thing we've got so just do the best you can. I'm guessing we might be able to shave our return time in half if we push the engines hard enough. Bharata, I need you to get on the comm. system and start trying to transmit an emergency signal on all UNAF frequencies."

Bharata nodded and took up a side computer console, "I'm wishing Erin were here right about now."

As the others worked, Jake stepped forward, "What about me Captain? What do you want me to do?"

Martin thought for a moment, "Hmm… maybe pray? God knows we could use some help because we're not out of the woods just yet."

Jake chuckled, "Sorry, after some of the things I've done in the field, I'm not exactly sure I'll be high on God's answering queue. How about weapons? Anything I can operate to defend us?"

Ella shook her head as she worked to reroute the power configuration of the ship, "Aside from a single low powered nose blaster, no. Even that's more designed just for blowing up small meteoroids."

Jake furrowed his brow in disappointment while idly scanning the long range sensors. His heart stopped when he suddenly saw several red blips show up on their radar, "Uh guys…. I think we've got some trouble."

A large powerful energy blast of a space cannon suddenly erupted just off the starboard side of the shuttle and rattled it. Erik gripped Julian and held him secure while the shuttle took abrupt evasive maneuvers, 'Shit! Those must be Xeno warships firing on us! How did they catch up to us so fast?"

"They do have bigger engines than we do mate," Jake gasped while another enemy shot went wide and rattled the shuttle.

"Hang on everyone!" Martin exclaimed while steering their ship in an evasive zigzag pattern "Ella?"

"Engines are at 125% thrust. Any faster and we'll burn out our reactors. Let me try something!"

She quickly keyed in several commands and hit the enter key with a smile. "ECM fields activated!"

The larger Xeno ships pursuing the shuttle fired several more blasts from their cannons but a number of their volleys began to go very wide or miss completely. Jake watched the sensors and gave a sigh of relief, "What's going on? Are the enemy gunners drinking on the job?"

Ella shook her head proudly, "No. I just bought us a little time. I reconfigured our shields with electronic countermeasures to disrupt the enemy targeting and radar systems. That should make it harder to lock on to us with their guns or torpedoes."

The Silver Ranger gave her an enthusiastic high five, "Aw, brilliant work luv! We might just get through this after all."

Bharata looked up in a panic from the communication panel and set aside the earpiece, "Maybe not. There's a whole lot more chatter on the Xeno radio bands. That can only mean one thing…"

"Strigons," Martin murmured in growing fear, "If those ships launch even a squadron of fighters, we're dead meat."

As the shuttle Ulysses roared ever closer to Earth at full speed, the large blue globe of the planet appeared on the astral horizon, but it still looked so far away. Several tense minutes passed and Bharata watched in dismay as the distance counter to the planet continued to decrease, but not fast enough. "We're not going to make it… are we?"

"We've come too far to fail now," the Red Ranger growled through gritted teeth as he watched the sensors. Several Xeno fighter craft had been launched and were screaming toward them. The Strigons were faster, more maneuverable, and heavier armed. It was times like this the Ranger wished he was flying a Pegasus instead. "Hang on!"

More time passed and the pursuing Strigons finally caught up and opened fire with a spray of cannon fire and a volley of missiles. Thanks to Ella's disruptor trick on the shields, the enemy missiles changed direction and streaked away harmlessly. While the Strigons made a pass, several of their laser bolts struck the shuttle and hammered its shields. The Rangers were jolted violently before Martin made a gutsy turn and angled through the alien formation to disrupt their attack and buy the Rangers a little more time.

"Shields are down to 70%" Ella called.

The shuttle rocked again as a long range cannon burst from the enemy warships grazed the rear portside of the Ulysses, "Correction, 56%"

In the back Erik took several deep breaths and used a cloth to wipe some sweat from Julian's brow. The sedated tech probably barely knew what was going on at the moment and in a way, that could almost be considered a blessing. It was a terrifying thought to know the Rangers were basically sitting ducks in open space with a small fleet of hostile ships bearing down on them. He wondered for a somber moment what it would be like to be vaporized in a spaceship… or what might happen to his daughter Sarah if he were gone. All he could do was focus on what he could control… to comfort his patient here and protect that life first.

The Strigons made another pass and rocked the shuttle with another blistering strafing run. Jake clenched his fist in frustration while hanging on, "Damn! We can't fight back!"

"Shields are down to 23% Captain. We can't take much more of this," Bharata noted as he looked at another console.

"I'm doing the best I can here Lieutenant," Martin grimaced tensely while trying to evade the enemy fighters and veer clear of their attack angles. "Problem is they're driving racecars and I'm steering an eighteen wheeler."

Three Strigons screamed by and unloaded a spray of weapons fire on the flank of the shuttle jolting it sideways and shearing through the last of the shuttlecraft's shielding. Several panels blew out and a nearby dashboard sensor erupted into a fountain of sparks as the Ulysses was slammed sideways. One last long range cannon burst from a pursuing warship clipped the tail end of the shuttle and scorched the hull. The cabin lights went dimmer as Ella and Jake began giving damage reports, "Shields are out. Rear number 2 drive engine is disabled. Long range nav sensors are down. Right stabilizer is damaged. Hull integrity is at 80%."

Martin desperately reached for the main console and wiped away a line of sweat from his brow, "Routing all emergency power to polarize hull plating. That should absorb one more hit for us."

As if sensing their quarry was desperate and wounded, the Strigons regrouped in a holding pattern and the Xeno warships stopped firing. A transmission came in over the shuttle's radio, "This is the warship Umbra. Power down your engines and prepare to be boarded. Comply or be destroyed."

Bharata chewed his lip and took a gambit, "Communicators are damaged. Please repeat?"

Everyone looked at him and the Green Ranger shrugged, "If we can keep them talking, it might buy us a little more time."

The voice on the other end of the radio spoke again, this time more angry and forceful, "Power down your engines and lower your defenses immediately. We will not ask again."

Martin cut the engine power and let the shuttle coast along before turning to the team, "Well… this is it. Nowhere left to go."

Jake gave a frown and looked up, "We could always tell them to just go sod off, right? Unless you want to stand and fight when they try to board us?"

Erik rose and joined his friends leaving the sedated Julian sleeping on the cabin floor, "We could try self destructing the shuttle. Maybe take a couple of them with us?"

The Red Ranger touched his morpher and regarded his team with a grim expression, "If you're all willing to die together like that, then so will I."

The Rangers all exchanged a somber nod, preparing to stand and fight when they were startled by several pin pricks of light appearing out the front of the shuttle's window. A volley of superheated energy bursts flared from the direction of Earth and one struck the second Xeno destroyer ship. The alien warship shuddered violently as a squadron of UNAF Pegasus fighters roared into range followed by three UN battle frigates. Having been caught off guard, the Xeno fighters and warships scrambled to take evasive action and regroup.

"Those shots must have come from the orbital defense guns!" Bharata cheered as he marveled at the sight, "We must be at the very edge of their range!"

Three sleek Pegasus fighters soared by and harried the disorganized enemy Strigons, shooing them away from the crippled Ulysses. While the UN pilots did, their wingmen moved to try and get missile locks on the scrambling enemies.

"I can't believe my eyes! Our boys just played a blinder!" Jake cheered pumping fist triumphantly.

As the larger Xeno warships broke formation, they came under a barrage of fire from the Terran frigates' railguns and spacial torpedoes. One of the alien destroyers crumpled under the concentrated fire and was torn apart by several secondary explosions forcing the other warships to disengage and retreat. The Rangers gave another cheer while they watched the last of the Strigons withdraw and flee back with their comrades toward the moon.

As one of the frigates neared, a call came in over the radio, "Ulysses, this is the UNS Olympia. We picked up your distress signal and are here to help. Please say your state."

Martin got on the comms with a relieved sigh, "This is captain Sterling of the Ulysses. We've been better, but we're glad you came. Thanks for the save Olympia."

The young female comm officer of the Olympia shook her head in astonishment as she pulled up data on the Ulysses and its current mission plans. "I can't believe what I'm reading Captain… did your crew really just…"

"Escape the moon and give the Xenos a black eye? Yes… yes we did."

The sounds of the other Rangers cheering and giving each other hugs filled the background before the comm. officer sat back in her seat, "Well… let me be the first to say welcome home Rangers. Stand by for recovery."

"Acknowledged," the Red Ranger smiled as he pulled off the headset and joined his teammates in the delirious celebration taking place within the main cabin of the shuttle. Amid the laughter and banter that filled the cabin, the Nova Rangers all looked out the viewport toward Earth. In that moment, the bright blue glow of their home world never looked so beautiful.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **We're almost there everyone. I've got one more chapter coming to tie up the series first half. See you then!**


	45. Thanksgiving

**Mission 16: Part 6  
**

After being escorted to safety by the UNAF space fleet, the Rangers reentered the Earth's atmosphere and were given a hero's welcome at the landing strip of Atlantis Base. The shuttlecraft Ulysses limped back onto its home runway, battered, scorched, and barely hanging together, but still intact just like its crew. Both Lucy and General Caldwell were there to greet them along with a horde of base personnel and grounds crewmen. Because of the covert nature of the mission, there had been complete radio silence for an entire day and no one in the command tower had been able to know if the Nova Rangers had succeeded in their mission or were lost on the moon.

An emergency medical crew was also present on the runway and were the first ones on to the shuttle the moment it parked. Erik had done his job of stabilizing Julian's grievous blaster wound, but now was their turn to take over and give him proper treatment as well. Everyone cleared the way as the younger tech was carried off on a stretcher with an IV running. After the Rangers got through being mobbed by the first wave of base personnel, they were all surprised to receive big hugs from a visibly emotional Dr. Beckett. As she finished with Martin and let go of him, she gave a confused look and scanned their ranks, "Wait... where is Taldyr? Did he make it back with you?"

"No Doc," Bharata replied while shaking his head, "He decided to stay behind by choice... or rather it was part of an elaborate plan. We now have a friendly agent planted within the enemy ranks to spy on them and help sabotage their efforts."

Ella stepped forward holding the new Conduit helmet out to Lucy, "We got what we came for though. Please do what you can to help save Erin now."

Dr. Beckett took the helmet and gave a resolute nod, "I will Ella, and thank you. I promise I'll find a way."

She paused a moment and wrinkled her features, "About Julian... is he going to..."

"He'll be fine," Erik nodded, "I made sure of that."

"Please don't be too upset with us. You should be very proud to have such a brave assistant," the Pink Ranger added gratefully, "Julian saved my life on that mission and he didn't think twice about risking himself either."

As Lucy nodded and stepped back, Caldwell gave a warm smile to the team and extended his hand to each of them, "Welcome home Rangers. I'm glad to see all of you are safe again. What you did today... well, it defied all odds."

"It hasn't been the first time General," Martin answered with a tired smile, "We all had a single minded purpose and everyone on this team contributed their skills. You were right to choose these people as Rangers and I've come to learn why over this past year. If we can go up to the moon and deal a blow to the aliens on their own home turf, then there might be hope we can win this war after all."

"I second the feelings," Jake said as he threw a friendly arm over his commander and turned to address Caldwell, "But seeing as how we survived this mission by the skin of our teeth, I think we'll all need some time to rest and recover too. With the General's permission, may we be excused to go on vacation for the next two months?"

Caldwell chuckled, "Trust me Corporal, I'll grant all of you extended leaves, but first you need to stay here and be debriefed. My office. Tomorrow morning. Ten hundred hours. "

"Right then," Jake nodded to his fellow Rangers, "I guess we'll just have to settle for getting trolleyed tonight."

Everyone looked to him with perplexed looks causing the Silver Ranger to sigh, "Oh you know what I mean... we'll go out and get drunk? Am I the only one speaking English here?"

Bharata sighed and patted Jake's shoulder as they kept walking, "My friend, we might want to stay at least semi sober until after that meeting."

"Jake's kind of right though," Erik said putting companionable arms over Martin and Ella, "It probably wouldn't hurt to grab a large juicy burger and a few pints of beer. What do you guys say?"

Ella nodded with a tired smile as they walked off following their other teammates, "Agreed. If this was just our welcoming committee here, I'm sure every bar in the West End will be saving us seats and buying us rounds tonight. What are we waiting for?"

* * *

Two days later, the Nova Rangers reconvened in the base's medical recovery ward to pay visits to its two newest occupants. After having been debriefed and taking a day to decompress from the harrowing mission, the Rangers were eager to check up on the status of Erin and Julian. Using the recovered Conduit helmet, Lucy had succeeded in adjusting the device to safely neutralize the harmful effects on Erin's brainwaves. When they came to visit her, they found her sitting up in bed reading a book before she put it down and graced them with a bright smile.

After greeting her teammates with big hugs and kisses on their cheeks, Erin sat back and listened as Erik reported on the most recent medical updates. "The way it's looking, you're going to be okay. Because we didn't wait too long with your condition, the doctors here all agree there should be no permanent brain damage and you should be on your feet in a couple days."

The Yellow Ranger nodded with a grateful sigh, "As much as I want to get back to action, I have to admit that it's been nice to get a few days to stay off my feet."

"You must have been bored out of your mind Lieutenant," Jake noted as he set down a vase of flowers the team had brought for her.

"Not at all. In fact, I decided to make myself useful while you guys were all risking your necks out there," Erin replied. She picked up a datapad from her bedside and handed it to Martin, "I worked out the last of the Adventi translations the slow way and put them on this file. A lot of it was very technical, but it sounds like it'll be really useful to upgrading our gear. Please give this to Dr. Beckett for me?"

"Thanks Erin. I will," Martin nodded as he took the datapad, "For now, I'm giving you orders to just rest and recover. I know how much you love to argue with me, but I'd like you to do this please."

She smiled and nodded, "Yes sir... and thank you again."

The Yellow Ranger shifted in her bed and turned with another bright smile to her other roommate in the ward, "Spending a few days here won't be so bad. I've got Julian here to keep me company after all."

The tech returned the smile from his own bed where he was propped up among pillows and blankets. Despite the bandages and tubes taped to the wound in his side, he was looking much stronger and his color was returning. "Hey I'm just keeping my promises. I figured you and Dr. Beckett would be pretty pissed off at me if I got killed on that mission."

"Well we're glad you didn't," Ella said as she sat down beside him and ruffled his hair, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten a chance to say thank you again for what you did for me. I owe you one."

The Pink Ranger leaned down and gave him an innocent kiss on the cheek causing him to blush sheepishly. "Oh... gee Ella, don't mention it. You're welcome."

Bharata clapped Julian's other shoulder and gave a conspiratorial wink, "Well, I guess we shouldn't bother our friends too long. They do have a bit of catching up to do while recovering."

Erik grinned, "He's right. General Caldwell did grant us all some time off and we were going to be heading out on leave soon. I think everyone is eager to go home and see their families again for a few weeks."

"You will be going back to Ireland to visit yours when you're cleared by the doctors, right?" Ella asked Erin.

The Yellow Ranger paused and considered the expectant look of her friend's face before nodding, "Yeah... I think that would be a good idea Ella. But for what it's worth... I'll miss you guys, even if it's just for a few weeks."

"We'll be back soon enough luv. And don't think I forgot about our dart game either," Jake said cheerfully.

"This time I'm going to win," Erin laughed as her fellow Rangers said one more round of goodbyes before heading out of the ward.

After they departed, a brief companionable silence fell over the room before Julian turned to Erin hesitantly, "So... now what do we do?"

Erin considered the question for a moment before touching her cheek and reaching her hand out with a gentle smile, "Well, how about we sit and talk for a bit... just you and me?"

Julian laughed and reached his own hand out from his bed to hold hers, "Yeah... I'd like that."

* * *

 **Munich, Germany**

A light layer of frost and snow covered the ground as the light of the transporter beam faded around Erik Dobermann Jr. The Blue Nova Ranger looked around and saw the sights of the familiar suburban neighborhood and the small cozy brick house standing before him. His grandparents knew he was coming and would certainly be waiting by the window for him. Like the other Rangers, he had left Atlantis Base in civilian clothes suited to the current winter season. He straightened his dark blue Navy style peacoat in respect to his father and the fact that he wanted to look presentable for coming home again.

All pretense was immediately tossed aside the moment the door opened and he saw the little form of his daughter Sarah rush out to meet him. She had barely put on her shoes, much less a winter coat as she dashed outside with an excited squeal. "Papa! You're back!"

Erik bent down and scooped his daughter up and gave her a big hug and kiss on the cheek, "I'm here liebchen. (dearest) I'm so glad to see you. Where is your coat?"

"Back inside. It would take too long to put on," she said as Erik carried her down the sidewalk.

"Well you're going to get sick you little munchkin. If you do, then that means we can't go out and do fun things together while I'm home," he sighed as he wrapped his blue scarf around her and plopped his German Air Force beret on her head.

"Did you bring me anything neat Papa?" Sarah asked hopefully as they reached the front steps of the house. Erik thought for a moment and reached into his coat pocket.

"As a matter of fact, I did."

He produced the commendation medal he had been awarded for his actions in Dubai and pinned it to her sweater, "How would you like to hold on to that for me?"

"Cool!" she said as she admired the medal and the ribbon, "Did you get this for beating the aliens for good this time?"

He shook his head and gave her another kiss on the head, "No sweetheart, the war isn't over yet. But I got that for helping save a lot of people. Now why don't we go back inside, have some dinner, and I'll tell you all about it, hm?"

* * *

 **Jakarta, Indonesia**

Basuki Surya grunted as he lugged a bag of rice back into his modest little home not far from the coast. After the tsunami, the people of the island nation were still recovering and rebuilding their homes, but fortunately his did not take too much damage. It would still be a lot of work, but he was grateful that his water and electricity was still working. He had a pot of water boiling on a wood burning stove and was looking forward to sitting down for some tea when he stopped in surprise at the sight before him. Walking up the garden path came Bharata Timothy, dressed down to a green polo shirt and khaki shorts.

The older man dropped the bag of rice and walked out to greet his charge with a hug, "Welcome back my boy. I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

Bharata smiled warmly and shook his head, "Honestly, I didn't expect I'd be back at all after the last mission I was on. I've been given a few weeks of leave time and I couldn't think of a better way to spend it. Do you need help carrying that rice Mentor?"

Basuki led him toward the porch and put a hand on his shoulder while they walked, "Thank you. I've got a pot of tea on right now. Why don't we sit down, drink some tea, and you tell me all about your adventures."

* * *

 **Milan, Italy**

Carmella Catalano gave a knock at the door to her family's townhome in downtown Milan. While Atlantis Base could be a busy and exciting place, it didn't quite match the bustle and charm of her own home city. The fact that she could hear everyone around her speaking Italian was a nice little change of pace as well. As was only proper, she made sure to dress well as she returned among her people and wore some stylish dark jeans with a warm leather jacket and a pink winter beret. A brisk chilly breeze blew while the sounds of car horns and chatty pedestrians passed by.

Moments later, the front door opened and she was greeted by the warm smiles of her two parents Dante and Bianca. Her mother was the first to give her a big hug and pinch her cheeks, "Ella! Welcome home dear! It's been so long!"

"I know, and I'm sorry about that Mom," she replied as she set her suitcase down in the hallway, "I've been a little busy and things have been a little... well, crazy at work. Good news is, I'll be home for a few weeks."

Mrs. Catalano waved it off and patted her daughter's cheek lovingly, "Well at least it looks like you've been staying healthy and eating enough. Come in! I was preparing some lasagna. I know it's not as good as your aunt's but maybe you could help me and give some of your brilliant suggestions."

"Sure Mom! I'd be happy to help!"

* * *

 **Bristol, England**

Jake Massey made his way down the narrow streets of his own home city of Bristol. The cold November wind nipped at his neck and Jake huddled into his green field jacket he had once worn during his time with the British army. He adjusted a gray woolen winter cap to keep his head warm as he made his last turn down the winding side street of the working class neighborhood. He carried a grocery bag under one arm and opened up a door leading into a modest apartment building.

He made his way up the stairwell for a few flights until he reached the right flat. He gave the door a knock and waited patiently. After a minute, he heard the door unlock and another young man peeked through the doorway. He looked to be Jake's age and had a similar build suggesting he had been in the military as well. "Jake? Is that you?"

"Percy! Good to see you mate! Can I come in?" Jake grinned as he offered the bag, "I brought you a little gift, some extra food and treats I picked up along the way. I think there's a package of biscuits. I figure we can crack them open."

"Thanks. I'll put some tea on," Percy nodded inviting him inside. Jake took a look around the lonely spartan apartment that his old friend and squadmate was living in. Percy had been the only other survivor of their original squad in the battle of London five years ago. It had affected him greatly, unfortunately much more than it had traumatized Jake. The Silver Ranger gave an encouraging look, "How have you been holding up my friend?"

"Getting by," Percy shrugged, "The PTSD still comes and goes, but never really goes away, you know?"

Jake nodded in understanding before Percy cleared his throat and tried to change the subject, "So what the hell are you doing here? I thought you'd be home visiting your own folks, especially after I heard you became a Ranger."

Jake shrugged and sat down on the couch where a football match was playing on the television, "My parents? They're both off being too busy with the army and politics to really notice I'm in. I figured I might as well do some good and help take care of one of my old friends."

Percy gave a grateful nod and headed for the kitchen, "Thanks Jake. I'll get that tea, yeah?"

* * *

 **Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA)**

A light snow was already falling when Martin Sterling teleported in and made his way through the front door of the downtown recreation center. He loosened his red scarf and brushed some snow from his dark wool coat before asking for some directions at the front desk. He made his way to the other end of the building and entered a large community gymnasium. On that particular day, mats had been laid out on the floors along with a balance beam.

At that time, it looked like a class had ended and the gym was clearing out. A group of preteen girls in workout clothes made their way out carrying gym bags and chattering loudly with each other. The Red Ranger politely let them pass by before heading over to the young woman who remained in the gym wiping down the balance beam. "Darn, looks like I just missed class. I'm not going to get points deducted, am I?"

Christina turned around in shock and dropped the towel. She rushed over and threw her arms around him, almost knocking him over with her hug. The two shared a long kiss before she let go slightly and looked up at him, "Martin... you're here... how? I wasn't expecting..."

"I figured I'd surprise you. I would have come a little sooner, but I had some things to take care of first, what with a war being on and all."

"Better late than never," she smiled, "I thought you were going to go back home to Chicago first and see your parents."

"I'm still going to, but I changed my mind a little," he said with a laugh while continuing to hold her, "I wanted to sneak in a quick visit here first. Just so you didn't worry too much. Maybe you thought I bought the farm and already moved on."

Christina gave a mild huff before reaching up and kissing him again, this time in the same place and in the same way Lucy had kissed him before he left for his last mission. He stopped a moment and wore a pensive look on his face. Christina tilted her head slightly, "Martin? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah... everything is fine."

She took his hand and led him out of the gym, "Good. Let's get out of here. Maybe find some place to grab dinner? What do you say?"

* * *

 **Atlantis Base, Mess Hall**

By now, late evening had already fallen over the base. The last of the dinner crowd and dwindled and aside from a few stragglers, the place was quiet and empty. Dr. Lucy Beckett sat by herself at a table near the large bay windows overlooking the calm oceans. As she sat drinking a hot cup of coffee, she studied the datapad in front of her. Much to her amazement, Erin had succeeded in finishing her translations of the Adventi database. While she skimmed through, a quiet excitement was building within her as she saw potential for many new revolutionary breakthroughs in the advancement of their technology.

Still, that excitement was a little dulled and hollowed by the fact that no one else was here to share it with. All the Rangers had gone home to see their friends and loved ones and on that particular evening, Lucy felt especially alone. Maybe like Martin, she had grown accustomed to the presence of the other Nova Rangers, of their chatter, their laughter, and the unusually close bonds that had cemented over the course of this past year. She liked having them around and if she was honest, maybe even needed it. But her situation was slightly different. Unlike the other Rangers, she didn't have much in the way of immediate relatives that she was close to, nor did she have any spouse or significant others to worry about.

In a sense, she preferred things that way. It let her concentrate on solving problems and going further in her research than her father ever did. She knew she wasn't competing with his memory, but she felt she had to keep pushing forward. It's what he would have wanted and expected of her. Still... what good was all that with no one else to celebrate those triumphs? At that moment, she missed her father, and even those camping trips which she had hated going on with him. Now another one of her new traditions had been disrupted with the departure of her friend Martin over Thanksgiving.

For the past few years, she had gone home with him for the holiday and had dinner with his family. But now things were a little different, especially if he was going to be bringing Christina home, or maybe celebrating with her family. Lucy gave a sigh and picked up the datapad again. For now, she'd stay at her post here and work through it. The Rangers were counting on her to take this information they had taken risks for and improve their weaponry. If it helped to end this war sooner and bring about a lasting peace, then her sacrifice right now would be more than worth it.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Hey everyone, thanks again for the continued interest and support of this series. We might have reached the end of the first season, but I want to give special shoutouts again to the following people for their reliable support and awesome contributions to the main cast:** ** _ChibiDawn23_** **,** ** _Mistycharming_** **,** ** _SA June_** **,** ** _fantasticrhapsody_** **, and** ** _Stormasius_** **. I love you guys and couldn't have gotten this far without you.**

 **Just a few other announcements. In the interim, I will be posting a few extra chapters in the future. They'll be more like fun light-hearted short stories and fillers so anyone who wants to spend some extra downtime with the main cast and even some extras around Atlantis Base should definitely check it out.**

 **Finally, I'll be setting up a new blind poll on my profile that has to do with a major relationship in the main cast. I honestly like both pairings but I'm going to leave it up to you readers to make the final call. And if anyone has ideas for other ships you want pushed, feel free to weigh in too. Thanks again everyone and see you whenever the second half of the series begins!**


	46. A Day Like Any Other

***Hey everyone, I'll be posting about 3 little sidestories here with more of a focus on light hearted humor and friendship. After all, even in the middle of a fierce and serious intergalactic war, there's still plenty of laughs and absurdity to be had.**

* * *

 **Mission Log: Supplemental 01**

It was a crisp and cold early December morning as Lieutenant Erik Dobermann Jr. stood in his quarters ironing a pair of slacks that were part of his duty uniform. Sunlight streamed in through the windows while a light snowfall sprinkled down outside blanketing Atlantis Base in a pristine white layer of snow. While he worked, he divided his attention between his task and the video call being taken from his desk nearby.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but you know I can't just take time off whenever I want," Erik sighed while his daughter Sarah pouted on the other end of the line, "I was home for a while just a week or two ago. I have work to do here."

"But Papa, this is important!" Sarah protested with a petulant huff. She crossed her arms and began whining, "All the other kids' parents are going to be there for the school recital. We're going to be singing Christmas carols and decorating the school and having cookies and..."

"Sarah..."

"Please Papa? Just for one day?" she insisted, "As long as the bad aliens don't attack you can come, right?"

Erik sighed and tried his best to gave her a somewhat stern look, "I'll do my best to come, but no more whining. You be a good girl and get ready to go to school today, all right? We'll talk later."

His daughter gave a bright smile and kissed her hand to the screen, "I promise I'll be good Papa! Thank you!"

As the call ended Erik shook his head and gave a sigh. When he finished ironing his extra set of pants, he folded them up and then walked over to his desk. He saw a stack of datapads that he still had to deliver today. He had done some reports and paperwork and needed Martin to sign off on them... which gave him an idea. He took a datapad and quickly began drafting a document. He wasn't certain his scheme was going to be successful, but if he was going to try and make it to Sarah's recital, it was worth a shot.

A little while later, Erik headed down the hallways of the base until he came to Martin's room. He rang the chime and waited a few moments before he heard his friend give a muffled reply on the other end. It sounded like "Enter."

Erik strolled in and stopped as he spied his commanding officer laying in bed with the covers over him. A vaporizer was working in the corner and a handful of tissues were on the bedstand as Martin sat up slowly. The Red Ranger looked haggard and miserable. His nose was red and he looked like a mess. Erik approached slowly, "Uh... Captain? Are you okay?"

Martin sniffed and waved it off while speaking through a stuffed nose, "Not really. Turns out a common flu bug did what the Xenos couldn't do for a year... completely knock a Ranger out of commission."

"You picked it up while visiting home?"

"I spent one of my last days of vacation going tobogganing with Chrissy. Serves me right I guess," Martin sighed as he sneezed, "Now what is it Erik?"

The Blue Ranger quickly held out a stylus pen and the datapads, "Oh sorry to bother you sir, but I just needed you to sign off on these reports. They're due today."

Martin took the pen and quickly initialed all of them without looking, "Fine. Good. If that's all, I'm going to go back to bed."

"Right then... feel better Martin," Erik said with a straight face as he collected the datapads and hurried out of the room. Once he left, Erik grinned as he held up the last document of the stack, "I know I'm feeling better already."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ella Catalano ambled about the base's mess hall kitchen. There had been a lull between the morning breakfast rush and lunch leaving the Pink Ranger a few hours to have access to the cookware. In a way, she was fortunate to be allowed to be there. The cooks on base tended to be a bit protective of their domain but Ella had been lucky she made friends with the head female chef. Only during off hours had Ella been allowed to play around in the kitchen but even then she used that time wisely, not only to experiment with her recipes, but also to befriend the other cooks there too.

On that particular day, she was hard at work making a special cake. Jake's birthday was coming up and she wanted to give him a special treat considering he was the newest and most junior member of the squad. She hummed a cheerful tune as she finished baking the last layer of the cake and pulled it out of the oven. Soon enough she'd put it together and layer some frosting over the top. While she prepared the filling and the mixed the frosting, she stopped and wondered what the rest of her teammates were doing today.

* * *

In the R&D lab, Jake Massey sat on a lab stool and spun around on it idly. Nearby, Dr. Lucy Beckett was busy on her laptop programming computer code into a robotic device on a nearby table. She glanced up and gave a sigh to the Silver Ranger, "Corporal, do you mind? You're distracting me."

"Sorry Doc," Jake said as he stopped his spinning, "I'm just really bored today. Everyone else already has other chores or errands to run. Julian told me you were working on something interesting so I figured I'd take a peek."

"Well... he wasn't lying," Lucy shrugged as she unplugged the robot and put it into a little enclosed pen, "Look at this."

Jake watched curiously as Lucy punched in a few commands into her computer and the little robot in the pen sprung to life. It was designed like a crab with several legs and a central body about the size of a football. When it received the signal, it rose up on its legs and began to scuttle around the pen. "You made a remote-control spider crab thing?"

"Not just any spider crab," Lucy pointed out. "This one uses some advanced Artificial Intelligence codes derived from the new Adventi database. I've been busy upgrading your weapons, but this has been an experimental side project of mine."

"What are you trying to accomplish?" Jake asked.

Lucy sighed patiently, "If the Adventi and Xeno Machina both have common origins, perhaps this AI will give us some clues about our Xeno enemies. They're bound to use some similar programming or techniques for their droids so if we can understand their behaviors and tendencies, we may have an edge when fighting them."

"Brilliant… but it does sound a bit dangerous too, don't you think?" Jake mused.

"As long as we're careful about it," she replied. "Now, I'm going to go on a quick bathroom break. If you want to make yourself useful, you can keep an eye on the droid here for a few minutes."

Jake gave an easy salute as she left the lab, "No worries Doc. I can do that."

A few idle minutes passed and Jake watched the robotic droid scuttle around its pen. He took a pencil and poked at it a few times watching in amusement as it reacted, almost like a real creature would. "Hmm… why don't you and I give Dr. Beckett some really interesting data to analyze."

He reached in and picked up the crab droid before removing it from its enclosure. He watched as the little droid scurried around and tried to get a sense of its new surroundings. Moments later, the lab doors opened and Lucy walked back in, but not before her eyes went wide in shock. "Jake? What the…"

Seeing its opportunity, the crab droid scuttled along the floor and zoomed out of the lab, right under her feet. She jumped a moment before turning furiously on the Silver Ranger, "What have you done?"

"I'm sorry Doc," Jake said recoiling in surprise, "I was just having a little fun with it! It seemed harmless enough!"

"That thing is an experimental AI! Who knows what it's going to do or where it might go!" Lucy exclaimed in outrage, "We have security protocols in the lab for a reason! If we let that thing interface with other systems on the base, there's no telling what might happen!"

Jake scratched his chin with a serious nod, "Understood. Then we'll just have to blast that thing before it gets away!"

As he took off running out the hall in pursuit, Lucy adjusted her glasses and tossed her labcoat aside to follow him, "No! Don't do that! Wait for me!"

* * *

While all that commotion was going on, Erik strolled through the base's central atrium obliviously humming his own cheerful tune. As he made his way toward another wing of the base where the transporters were located, he came across Erin Reilly who was on her way to do some research on another project. Erin stopped her comrade and gave him a curious look, "Erik! Hey! What's going on? Why are you out of uniform?"

Erik attempted to wave it off casually, "I'm going home for the day to see Sarah sing at her school holiday recital."

"And the Captain actually granted you a one day pass?" she asked skeptically.

Erik produced the datapad with the document and signature, "See for yourself."

The Yellow ranger studied the order for a moment before looking back at Erik, "What are you playing at Dobermann? I smell a con here."

Erik walked with her and put a conspiratorial arm over her shoulders, "Maybe Martin was feeling generous… especially because he's sick in bed today and a little more open to suggestion."

Erin returned his sly grin, "Ah… I see. You know, this information is going to cost you."

"Not to worry. Seeing as how I'm the acting squad commander today, I'm deferring my authority to you. That means you will have the power to cancel all our afternoon workouts and training drills."

"I like the way you think sir," she chuckled with a devious laugh, "All right. We have a deal."

Erik winked, "Great! As of this moment, you're in command today but I'll need you to do one more little favor to pull this off."

* * *

A short while later, Erik walked out to the transporter room still wearing his civilian clothes and carrying his duffle bag. He saw Julian sitting nearby manning the transporter controls. Ever since he had been discharged from the medical ward, Julian wanted to keep active and was placed on light duty. Caldwell had allowed the younger tech sit behind the controls and regulate all the transports for the day.

As he approached, he graced Julian with an angelic smile, "Julian! My friend! Glad to see you back on your feet. How are you?"

"I'm good Erik, thanks!" Julian answered before raising a confused eyebrow, "Uh, Lieutenant? What are you doing here? And why are you dressed down to your civvies today?"

The Blue Ranger continued smiling and produced a datapad, "I'm glad you asked. I'm headed back to Munich on a special one day pass. Would you like to do the honors and beam me there?"

Julian took the datapad and studied the document. It looked legitimate and even had Captain Sterling's signature. It was a little unusual, but everything seemed to be in order. The tech shrugged and powered the transporter before hesitating, "I don't know. I'm just going to double check with Captain Sterling… just to be sure."

Before Erik could fret, Erin strolled in to the room and headed straight over to Julian. She gave a cute smile and flipped her hair aside in a playful flirtatious way. "Julian! There you are!"

She walked over and placed her hands on his shoulders giving an affectionate little massage, "You silly boy, I heard you were working here today instead of taking it easy."

Julian sighed in contentment for a moment, "Oh… well you know, it's hard to keep a good worker down. Can you give me a second? I was just going to give Captain Sterling a call and…"

Erin gently took his hand away from the comm switch on the panel, "Martin's not feeling well today. You don't want to bother him. Do you? If he gets pissed off, then he'll be mean to the whole squad today… including me. You don't want me to get punished now… do you?"

Julian gulped as Erin gave an innocent doe eyed look causing his resolve to completely melt away, "Well… no."

"Great!" she exclaimed suddenly reaching for the transporter control to activate it, "Then let's send Erik on his merry way right? Cheers Erik!"

Erin gave her accomplice a cheerful wave as the transporter powered on and teleported Erik back home to Germany.

Julian glared at her for a moment before shaking his head with a sigh, "I don't suppose you'd be willing to continue with that neck massage for a few minutes? It felt nice."

Before Erin could oblige, the doors of the room opened and a small ten legged crab droid raced in. It was followed in moments later by Jake, Lucy, and a handful of UNAF marines posted on security details. "What in the world?"

They watched in amazement as the droid swiftly raced around the room, running rings around its pursuers and leading them in circles. A few marines chased it around the transport platform before it came back and crawled up Dr. Beckett's leg. Before she could swat at it, the droid leapt off and jumped into Jake's hands, surprising him. Before the Silver Ranger could snatch it, the droid dropped to the ground and ran under his legs out the door while two Marines tackled Jake trying to get the robot.

"What is going on here?" Julian demanded but his own mentor shook her head and breathlessly pointed after their objective, "Test droid… got loose… gotta catch it!"

Julian and Erin exchanged a puzzled look before following the growing search party out the door and after the rogue bot.

* * *

The Rangers and their allies continued to dash through the base chasing the robot while other base personnel jumped aside or added to the commotion and chaos. They continued the chase as it led to the housing section for male military officers. Unbeknownst to him, Bharata Timothy stepped out of the showers and made his way back down the hall to go change in his room. Aside from his shower caddy, he wore nothing but a green bath towel around his waist. As he whistled a tune, he heard a door at the other end of the hallway open behind him. To his surprise, he spun around at the sounds of clinking robotic legs, a horde of rushed footsteps, and people shouting over each other. In a heartbeat, he was tripped from behind by the crab droid and fell over while nearly getting trampled by its pursuers. As the droid ran off, Jake paused a moment to help his teammate up.

"What the hell was all that?" the Green Ranger exclaimed in outrage.

"No time to explain. Rogue AI. Just come with us," Jake said before clearing his throat, "Oh, and you might want to readjust your towel. You'll give all the girls on post a show."

Bharata sheepishly fixed his towel and hurried out of the hallway with Jake in hot pursuit. The moment the noisy crowd left the hallway, another door opened and Martin emerged. He wore a pair of red flannel pajama pants, a white night shirt and a very annoyed scowl on his face.

* * *

Eventually, the chase led into the mess hall just as the preparations for the lunch hour were being made. Drinks were spilled and several soldiers and scientists jumped from their seats as the rogue crab droid continued to dodge and evade its pursuers. As it leapt off a table, it dashed by a female fighter pilot who had just returned from patrol and was sitting down to grab a snack. The young woman fell out of her seat in surprise and almost kicked the table over, getting in the way of Lucy and a few of the marines.

Upon changing direction, the droid zoomed into the kitchen just as Ella was finishing the large cake she had prepared and decorated. As the others barged in, Ella froze and looked up before raising her hands in alarm, "Jake! What are you doing here? Don't look!"

"Ella! Don't move!" Erin shouted in return as the droid crawled up the side of a sink and dashed down a counter top. Bharata and another marine tried to grab the droid but it slipped free and made a flying leap to escape. To everyone's surprise, the droid landed right in the middle of the cake and reared up on its legs, hoping to intimidate its pursuers in a last ditch effort.

Having no idea what was going on, Ella gave an alarmed shriek and called upon her Nova Blaster pistol from her morpher. She aimed her gun right at the droid as Lucy raised her own hands in panic, "No! Ella! Wait!"

Ella pulled the trigger and fired a single blaster shot at the rogue droid at the same moment Martin stormed in from the main kitchen door. The blaster bolt struck the droid, blowing it to pieces and spraying the entire kitchen with birthday cake. After the shot was fired, a long silence fell over the crowded kitchen as the Nova Rangers, their allies, and a few security guards stood staring at each other in amazement over what just happened.

The Pink Ranger slowly lowered her smoking blaster pistol before everyone looked up in alarm to see where the majority of the ruined cake had been sprayed. The Red Ranger stood with his entire face and the front of his t-shirt covered in frosting and goop. They stared as Martin slowly reached up to wipe away some of the mess from his eyes. In a deadly calm voice, he asked, "What is going on here?"

"Oh bugger," Jake muttered, "We're going to be doing PT drills until we puke."

Lucy bit her lip and tugged at her shirt collar, "Well… you see, there was this droid I was working on and it got loose and…"

Ella put down her gun and spoke over her, "Captain! I am sooooo sorry! I didn't' know…"

He held up a hand to silence everyone with surprising calmness, "You know what? Never mind. I don't want to know right now."

He slowly looked around the room, "Where is Erik?"

Erin cleared her throat, "He's uh… back home in Germany for the day, sir."

"On whose authority?"

Julian timidly stepped forward showing him the datapad with his own order, "Actually... on yours Captain."

The Red Ranger looked at the dataslate before nodding slowly, "I see. Well then… It seems everything is under control. I'm going back to bed then. Carry on."

Jake shifted uncomfortably expecting for him to still go ballistic and punish the squad, "Will that be all Captain?"

"Well… yeah. If Bara could go put on some pants too, then that would be great."

Martin turned and began walking out of the kitchen before pausing and turning around, "Oh, and Ella?"

She gulped and answered hesitantly, "Sir?"

He wiped some cake frosting off his cheek and ate it, "The cake is actually pretty good. Nice work."

As he walked out of the room, Bharata wiped away some frosting from his own face, "Well, that was… surreal. Let's start cleaning up before something else goes wrong."

Jake shrugged and picked up a towel, "So… on a scale of one to dead, how screwed are we?"

"My guess? We'll probably be wishing the Xenos would put us out of our misery first," Erin sighed as she began to lead the clean up effort, "Can somebody please hand me a wet mop?"

* * *

Later that day, the singing voices of children filled the school auditorium as Erik and his grandparents sat watching Sarah's class performing Christmas carols at the their holiday show. Just as Sarah had promised, the auditorium was decorated with painted Christmas murals, cut out snowflakes, and candycanes. While Erik sat filming the songs, his grandfather leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder, "It's great that you were able to make it to the show today, but are you really sure it was okay for you to take the day off? I know how busy and chaotic your job can be."

"It's okay," Erik shrugged, "It was a pretty slow day at the base and I'm sure everything was fine. After all, what's the worst that could have possibly happened?"

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Lots of thanks again to** ** _ChibiDawn23 _****for inspiring this plot idea. It was originally a simple premise of Erik sneaking out and it just grew and took on a whole new life of its own. ;)**


	47. Unsung Heroes

**Mission Log: Supplemental 02  
**

The sounds of missile pods whistled through the air before detonating in a series of loud explosions and lighting up the darkened Scandinavian skies. From her snowy foxhole, Sergeant Clarissa Lewis huddled with her small fireteam and watched as the Nova Megazord did battle with a Xeno Titan just off the coastlines of Denmark. Despite the rush of heat from the explosions, the air remained frigid and snowy over the icy tundra lands on the outskirts of Copenhagen.

"The Xenos picked a great time to stop in for a visit, don't you think Sarge?" Corporal James Cambell muttered as he tucked in his thermal scarf and rubbed his gloved hands to stay warm. Clarissa snorted in amusement toward her Canadian second in command as she continued to watch the giant mechanized fighters tangle. "December 24th? And here I almost thought they'd forgotten to give us a Christmas gift."

In the other end of the snowy trench, Private Marina LeFevre of France took a moment to watch the megazord battle with a pair of small binoculars, "Anyone want to take a bet on how long it takes the Rangers to bring that Titan down?"

Beside her, the fourth member of their squad Private Diego Madrigal of Mexico sighed and kept his eyes on the snow covered woods just north of them, "I think we'd be better off keeping an eye out for trouble. Who knows how many Xenos are still out there?"

Clarissa nodded and slapped in a fresh ammo clip into her assault rifle, "Diego's right. I want everyone here to do an ammo check and stay alert. I'm guessing there's still a company strength unit of Eidolons lurking in those woods."

James readied his rifle and took up a defensive crouch, "The UNAF defense line was spread out a little thin on the enemy's last push. If the aliens advance from the woods, our team is going to be hard pressed to stop them."

Clarissa grimaced while the megazord and Titan kept slugging it out. He was right. About a quarter mile north of them was a thick stretch of trees skirting the coastlines where the giants were battling. Dead ahead was a wide open field of frozen ice, likely part of a smaller fjord that had frozen over. If Clarissa's defense pocket was going to be able to hold their position, they'd need help. She reached for a small radio transmitter and sent a message, "Lewis to Atlantis Base, we could use some help out here."

She waited a moment before Dr. Lucy Beckett's voice came in from Ops, "What's the situation Sergeant?"

"Requesting reinforcements and fire support for our position. We are under threat from an enemy company. If we get overrun, that may put the rest of our line in jeopardy."

Behind her computer, Lucy pulled her attention away from the Rangers for a moment to survey the situation of the other UNAF ground troops there. She shook her head and gave an apologetic sigh, "I'm sorry Sgt. Lewis, we don't have any reserve units to spare at the moment. I'm routing local Danish defense units to reinforce you, but it's going to take some time. They're still about 10 minutes out."

Clarissa ground her teeth and suppressed her own anxiety, "Understood Dr. Beckett. Lewis out."

She looked to her squad mates and they all seemed to pick up on her discomfort. Marina sighed while thumbing the safety on her weapon, "Bad news Sarge?"

Clarissa took her spot in the trench and steadied her own gun, "Dr. B said we're on our own… at least for the next ten minutes."

"Plenty of time…" Diego mumbled, "You'd think the Xenos would have gotten the hint already. They already took a pounding and the Rangers will probably trash their Titan soon too."

More weapons fire was exchanged between the two giant while the four troopers watched for a moment. James smiled, "It's times like this I kinda wish I was Ranger."

"Why? Because they could wipe out a company of enemy troops, no problem?" Diego asked.

"Sure, but also because I'll bet their suits have some warm temperature control feature. It's freaking cold out here."

"Ironic coming from the Canadian," Marina teased with a gentle smile, "You guys are supposed to be super nice, right? I'm surprised you're even out here fighting a battle at all and not rolling out a welcome mat for the aliens."

"Right back at ya Frenchie," James retorted with a teasing grin.

The small squad shared a nervous chuckle within the snowy trench as Clarissa kept her eyes forward. Normally she'd tell the others to cut the chatter, but given the situation, it was probably best she let them ease some of the tension with a little humorous banter.

As a light snow continued to fall over the battlefield, Diego wiped his rifle down and nudged James, "You sure that's the reason why you want to become a Ranger? I figured it'd be to flirt with Lt. Reilly or Catalano."

James laughed again, "As great as that would be, I don't think officers and enlisted would mix well like that."

"Oh I don't know about that," Marina sighed as she handed a canteen of water over to Clarissa, "Corporal Massey's a Ranger. I thought I recall you once saying to me in passing that you thought he was kinda cute."

Clarissa frowned slightly as her cheeks flushed in mild embarrassment, "I... don't remember ever saying that. Why don't you three quit running your big mouths and keep your eyes on that treeline."

The other three troopers exchanged an amused look and turned back to their duty. After a long pause James smirked, "It's gotta be that limey accent, right? Girls go crazy over it and think you sound like James Bond."

He laughed some more before Clarissa gave him a swift punch in the arm, "Screw you Campbell. Eyes forward already."

Moments later, their banter was broken up as Diego gave a sharp hiss, "Sergeant, we've got movement. Contacts in the treeline headed this way... looks like a few advance scouts."

The megazord battle continued to rage in the background as the thin UNAF forces held their line. The attack was coming and despite the odds, Clarissa was determined to not let the aliens break through and get a shot at Copenhagen... especially not on the eave of Christmas. She gestured quietly and kept her eyes on the treeline. "All right, spread out. Hold your fire until those scouts get close. We don't want to give away our position too early.

The squad of troopers cut the banter and all became dead serious as they readied their weapons and waited patiently. A few tense minutes passed in silence save for the icy whistling winds. As the alien scout troopers neared, the din of the howling winds reached its peak which drowned out other noises. Clarissa smiled and barked an order to her troops, "Open fire!"

The fireteam let loose a short controlled volley of fire which surprised the alien scouts who were out in the open. As the snowy wind died down, five Eidolons collapsed to the snow in bloody heaps having been shredded by a hail of armor piercing bullets.

"We're not going to have much time before the others get wise and come in force," Marina noted as she cocked her rifle. "We're going to have to find way to crack the enemy's morale."

Clarissa continued to watch the front as her mind raced for a solution to their desperate situation. Then it struck her, "Wait... that's it! We're going to crack them!"

Diego raised an eyebrow, "Sarge?"

"Look," Clarissa said pointing out to the frozen ice field ahead of them lying in front of the forests. "The Xenos have to pass over that small frozen lake to get at our position. We can stop them if we draw them out and crack the ice. Let the terrain beat them instead."

"How do you intend to do that?" James asked skeptically as he reloaded his gun.

The sergeant turned to Diego and Marina, "LeFevre? Madrigal? I'm going to need C-4. As much as you can spare."

"What's the plan Sarge?" Marina asked while pulling a couple small bricks from her kit.

Clarissa gathered the explosives and placed them all in a pouch. "Campbell and I are gonna run out into the middle of that ice field and plant the charges. Once the Xenos make a general advance, we blow the charges and drown them. Marina, Diego, you two keep us covered while we're out there."

The cautious Mexican trooper bit his lip and nodded, "It's a risky plan, but it just may work."

James unloaded all his extra gear and rolled out of the trench before quickly helping Clarissa out, "Let's go! I'm right behind you Lewis!"

Both friends scrambled out into the snowy darkness and split the supply of explosives. As the snowy wind howled, they worked quickly to plant the charges in a long line on top of the ice before they could be spotted. Before they could regroup, Marina gave a panicked hiss over the comms, "Clarissa! James! Hurry up! They're coming!"

In the darkness, they could see a large body of enemy troops moving from the treeline with red glowing eyes activated in their helmets. With their infrared sensors, the two humans would be sitting ducks if they didn't hurry back. As soon as they regrouped, a hail of energy bolts erupted from the advancing line of Eidolons as they hurried forward to pick off the two Terran soldiers.

Marina and Diego opened fire to try and draw the attention of some of the attackers but Clarissa and James scrambled for their trench in a desperate dash, all while dodging enemy fire. Just as they neared the trench, James gave a cry of pain and pitched forward into the snow as an enemy blaster bolt tagged him in the thigh. Clarissa stopped and spun around, debating what to do. She was under heavy fire and had to blow the charges soon, but she couldn't leave her friend and teammate there either. No sooner had she paused was when she heard several sharp reports of another rifle. It sounded like a Terran weapon and each of the four shots struck a target, dropping them in the ground as well.

A new voice sounded over the radio and surprised Clarissa. It was the distinct voice of an Englishman, "Better get moving luv. Your wounded comrade's not going to save himself."

Clarissa reached down and grabbed the wounded James, half pulling and half dragging him through the snow the rest of the way. He left a faint trail of blood in the snow and gritted his teeth through the pain, "Thanks for the save Sarge. I'm sorry I got hit."

"Don't sweat it Campbell," she grunted as they both fell back over into the safety of the trench again, "The important thing is you're okay."

She looked up in surprise and gasped as she spoke again, "All right team, report..."

Standing in the trench with her troopers was the morphed Silver Nova Ranger casting some warm encouraging light in the snowy darkness. He set down a sniper rifle and readied his own personal weapon to return one more salvo. He fired off his Fusion Striker and the troopers watched in awe as the spray of super powered laser fire mowed down a row of incoming aliens.

"Corporal Massey... what are you doing here?" Clarissa asked in astonishment.

"I thought you could use a hand Sergeant, so here I am," he winked back, "Dr. Beckett said you needed help here and that megazord was getting a little cramped."

"I... I don't know what to say," she stammered.

"How about give the word to blow the charges?" Diego called handing her the detonator switch on the remote control, "Those Xenos will be on top of us any minute!"

Clarissa grabbed her helmet and ducked while hitting the trigger, "Get down!"

The soldiers all ducked in their snowy trench as the C-4 explosives went off in the ice field, detonating right in the heart of the aliens' advancing column. The Eidolons who weren't blown up, froze and panicked as the icy ground gave way underneath them. Scores of them fell into the dark icy waters or flailed about helplessly as they were left completely defenseless. As the blast faded and a cloud of snow rained down, Clarissa, Jake, and the rest of the fireteam peeked their heads up and gave a cheer as the enemy company was completely neutralized.

As Marina and Diego tended to the wounded James, Jake looked over the horizon to see the Nova Megazord stand triumphant over the smoldering ruins of another Xeno Machina battle titan. As the megazord powered down, several UNAF Marauder gunships swooped onto the scene with their buzzing engines before touching down gently nearby. Several platoons of local Danish soldiers disembarked and moved to secure the area, but the battle was already won. The scattered pockets of remaining Xeno infantry were in full retreat.

Clarissa took off her helmet and gave a deep sigh of relief as she let the cool refreshing air wash over her. The heat from her sweating had caused a small cloud of steam to rise up from her helmet as her light colored hair wavered in the wind. She felt an encouraging hand give her a pat on the shoulder and turned to see Jake give a nod, "Nice job out there Sergeant. As far as I can tell, you and your team just saved the whole defense line here against five to one odds.

"Well... I had a little help," she admitted giving him a small sheepish smile, "Thanks."

Jake turned to see a few Danish medics hurry over to take a look at the wounded James. "Better see to your squadmate. I've got to get back to mine before I get in too much trouble."

He gave a small casual salute before rushing off amid the clamor of reinforcements. Clarissa stood watching him go for a moment, seemingly lost in thought before she heard Marina and Diego approach, "Sergeant? What are our orders?"

Clarissa thought for a moment before nodding, "Let's get back to base camp and keep James company. I imagine he won't want to spend Christmas morning alone in a hospital ward."

* * *

A few days passed and the Christmas holiday came and went. Despite having been called into duty on that holiday, the Nova Rangers and several supporting infantry squads from Atlantis Base were in good spirits after their successful defense of Copenhagen. Casualties were minimal and in a stroke of divine grace, there had been no deaths among the UN troopers in that battle. On that particular morning, Clarissa Lewis made her way toward the officers' wing of the base and headed for a conference room there.

She wasn't quite sure why she had been called in personally and she wondered if it had to do with the battle in Denmark. A slight uneasiness sat in her stomach as she wondered if she was being questioned over having done something wrong. She had followed protocols in battle, she had gone through debriefing with no problems, and she filed her after action report properly. Why would any of the other officers want to talk to her about it?

When she reached the conference room, she opened the door and was surprised to see all six Nova Rangers gathered around a desk waiting for her. Erik was the first to look up and greet her as she approached, "Sgt. Lewis, thanks for coming."

Clarissa stopped before the table and straightened up to attention with a smart salute toward the officers present. "Reporting as requested sir."

Martin smiled warmly and rose from the table, walking over to address her, "At ease Clarissa. You're not in trouble or anything."

She relaxed her stance and tilted her head slightly, "Captain?"

The Red Ranger stood before her and cleared his throat, "Sgt. Clarissa Lewis, up to now your performance in your duties has been exemplary. You've demonstrated competence, courage, selflessness, and leadership in difficult situations. No performance encapsulates that more than your recent actions in the defense of Copenhagen."

The younger trooper blinked in surprise and struggled to find a response,"I... thank you, sir."

Erik grinned and gestured over toward Jake sitting nearby, "Corporal Massey wrote a particularly glowing report about your heroics in holding the line against an entire company of Xeno soldiers. General Caldwell was equally impressed."

"General Caldwell?" Clarissa gasped.

Ella rose with a small black box and handed it to Martin. The Red Ranger smiled again and opened the box revealing a pair of new insignia pins for her uniform, "Yes. That's why he saw it only fitting to give you a field promotion and a citation of valor."

Clarissa looked in shock to see the pins were a pair of golden bars denoting that of a commissioned lieutenant. Martin removed the bars and pinned them to her uniform, "Caldwell thought it was only right that a fellow American officer do the honors for your surprise pinning ceremony. Congratulations Second Lieutenant."

Clarissa beamed proudly and exchanged a salute, "Thank you Captain... and thank you everyone. I don't know what to say... I won't let you down."

The other Rangers applauded and when the clapping died down, Erin came over to drape a friendly arm over her comrade, "Now that all that is out of the way, you've got to uphold some new duties and traditions. All newly minted Lieutenants have to buy lunch for their senior officers on the day of their promotion, am I right?"

"I don't remember that ever being a thing," Bharata laughed giving Erin a playful shove. "Don't tease her."

"Does that mean I still don't get lunch?" Jake chuckled as they all made their way out of the room, "She still outranks me."

"Hey Martin, you think we can promote Jake next week so he can buy us food too?" Erik teased giving his British comrade an elbow.

"You see what I'm working with here?" Martin said with a good humored sigh to Clarissa, "These are your fellow Lieutenants. Don't be like them."

Ella gave him a light slap in the arm while Jake jokingly proposed "fragging" their CO.

Martin laughed and raised his hands to placate them, "All right, all right. Come on, let's all grab some lunch in the West End today."

As she followed behind the others, and listened to the others' banter, Clarissa Lewis smiled to herself. Sure the Rangers were a special unit and all of them were senior officers with more experience, but in a moment like this, they were just like any group of enlisted troopers. They laughed, teased, and bonded just as the members of her own squad. With her new duties and responsibilities around the base now, Clarissa decided to let that moment serve as a reminder to never take that team bond for granted and to not let that new rank make her treat others any differently. If moments like these were what the Rangers were fighting to protect, then she hoped they'd be around to protect many many more in the days to come.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **While the Nova Rangers are the main heroes of our story I think it's also important to showcase the bravery and selflessness of the ordinary rank and file UNAF troops who fight alongside the protagonists in the background. The runner up OC Clarissa Lewis was a perfect character to highlight the contributions of the common soldiers and I wanted to reward her with a chance to shine out. Thanks again to _Charlotte 'Charlie' Hartley_ for providing this great character to the series!**


	48. All The World's A Stage

**Mission Log: Supplemental 03  
**

Lieutenant Ella Catalano stood checking off a To Do list from her dataslate while a team of volunteer base personnel buzzed around her carrying boxes and holiday decorations. She and her team of subordinates all stood within a beautiful indoor promenade of a glass building situated on the West End of Atlantis Base. Normally this building was used for classy diplomatic receptions or high end social functions, and this coming event was no exception. In just one more day, the annual New Year's Ball for the base's military officers was going to be held and Ella had volunteered to help coordinate the logistics for it. For her, it was a fun way to use her sharp eyes and organizational skills outside of a combat situation. Despite the lack of small arms fire and exploding grenades, she still acted like a battlefield commander deftly issuing orders and coordinating the preparations for the party. She wanted to do a good job and she hoped that she would make it a fun experience for her fellow Rangers when they attended... at least she hoped they were planning to go.

As she watched some of the volunteers continuing to assemble strings of lights along the balconies of the Promenade's upper level, Ella turned when she heard her name being called. Both Lucy and Erik walked over and took a look at the progress being made. Erik crossed his arms and observed some of the streamers being put up, "Hey Ella! Dr. Beckett and I had some free time and thought we'd check up on how you're doing with the preparations."

Ella tapped her datapad to her chin thoughtfully and shrugged, "It's coming along. So far everything is on schedule, but I want everything to be great. You guys will be coming right?"

Erik scratched his chin with a smile, "Will you be serving those little cocktail wieners I like as an appetizer?"

The Pink Ranger patted his arm reassuringly, "Not to worry. We'll be serving the wieners."

"Then I'm in!"

Ella laughed and turned to their chief engineer, "How about you Doctor B? You're on the honorary guest list."

Lucy shifted about slightly, "Oh, I don't know Ella. I figured I might spend a quiet evening in. I'm not a social butterfly and I never know what to do at these kind of parties."

Ella put an encouraging arm around her shoulders, "Ah, come on Doc. It'll be fun! You can dress up really nice and come by for food, drinks, maybe do some dancing?"

Lucy bit her lip hesitantly, "Maybe… I don't know."

"Would you feel more comfortable about it if Martin came too?" Ella suggested helpfully. "You two could go as each others' dates for the evening."

Lucy thought it over for a moment before nodding, "Okay… do you know if he's going?"

"Actually I haven't asked him yet," Ella answered with a shrug, "I'll go pester the Captain later today. I can't imagine he'd say no."

* * *

"Gee Ella, I don't know about the party," Martin sighed as he sat in one of the West End's warm cozy cafes playing a game of chess with Erin, "I always get a little uncomfortable with so much small talk and I never know what to do with myself at these functions."

" _Che palle_! Not you too! Dr. Beckett said the same thing!"

Erin took her turn and moved a rook on the board, "Check."

Martin frowned slightly as Erin continued, "I'm sure the party will be fun sir. You can always cut loose a little and do some dancing for fun…"

"I'm not much for dancing," Martin said flatly as he made his next move in the game and captured one of Erin's threatening bishops.

Ella distracted him some more and tugged at his sleeve, "Oh come on Martin. If you go, then so will Dr. B. I told her you'd be her date for the evening."

"You what?" he said with wide eyes, "Ella! Please don't volunteer me for things without even asking first! Besides, you know I already have a girlfriend, right?"

"Of course I do," Ella protested stubbornly, "I figured you guys could just go as friends, right?"

Erin tapped her chin in thought, "I think he's more worried about what might happen later on in the evening. When the clock strikes twelve and everyone starts smooching? That could be a little awkward given the fact she shot him down once before."

"Oh right… I didn't consider that," Ella admitted sheepishly while Martin glared in mild annoyance.

"Thanks for reminding me."

To add insult to injury, Erin took her turn and made one more move on the board with her knight, "Checkmate."

"So… do you still want to come?" Ella asked but Martin simply rolled his eyes and left the table after tipping his king piece over.

* * *

Later that day in the R&D lab, Bharata Timothy sat at a table while Julian Wilson entered some new data on a spreadsheet for analysis. Sitting in front of them was a small cylindrical device from which data was being downloaded. Bharata drummed his fingers on the table and gave his friend a curious look, "Are you going to be much longer? If we wait any more, the gym is going to get crowded."

"Hang on. I'm almost done," Julian said as he kept typing, "I'm just waiting for my last test subject."

Bharata raised an eyebrow, "Test subject? What the heck is that gadget being used for?"

Julian gave a sly smirk and tapped the device, "This my friend is a subsonic neural emitter. I've been playing around with the schematics of the Xeno Conduit helmets to make something new."

The Green Ranger gave the device a wary look, "That' not going fry anyone's brains is it? You remember what happened last time you and I were playing around with experimental tech, right?"

"Yeah, I wound up creating something awesome for you in the end," Julian retorted with a laugh, "Relax. This device is largely harmless. Instead of directly putting data into people's brains, this device allows for subliminal ideas to be planted in your mind. It's kinda like signaling your subconscious mind to act on something."

"Sounds awesome… but also kinda dangerous," Bharata mused, "Does it actually work?"

Julian turned to see Ella and Jake walk in through the lab doors, "We're about to find out."

As they entered the lab, the Silver Ranger gave a wave and headed for the table, "Hey Julian! Bara! What's up?"

"Jake! Just the man I wanted to see," Julian said as he reached into his labcoat, "How are you feeling?"

"Uh… great," Jake shrugged, "Those radio waves weren't supposed to do anything weird, were they?"

Julian shook his head and offered a cigarette from his pocket, "Nope. Would you care for a smoke Corporal?"

To Bharata and Ella's astonishment, Jake shook his head, "Nah. I'm good thanks."

Julian turned back to his work and entered a few more notes, "Interesting…"

Ella furrowed her brow, "Okay… what exactly is going on here?"

Bharata crossed his arms thoughtfully, "If I had to guess, Julian here is running an experiment with his new gizmo. He was using Jake as a guinea pig and trying to manipulate his behavior?"

"Precisely," Julian smiled, "I had Jake sit near this running device earlier and I casually suggested he kick his smoking habit. His subconscious did the rest for me."

"Oh that's not cool mate. You tricked me," Jake protested, "This isn't permanent... is it?"

Julian shook his head, "No. As far as the other tests went, it's just a temporary effect which should probably wear off in a little while. This device was never designed to be effective for long term use."

"Hold on a minute, are you saying that thing's got the power to mind control other people?" Ella asked curiously.

"It's not mind control per se," Julian frowned, "It's more like making others more open to suggestion."

The Pink Ranger rubbed her hands together with a devious smirk, "Julian, may I borrow that device for a little while? I can help you gather more data for your report and I promise I won't use it for anything bad."

* * *

"You know, it's the damndest thing," Martin remarked to Erik the next day as the two men waited in the lobby of the reception building. They wore their blue dress uniforms and watched as other party guests made their way toward the greater indoor promenade, "I wasn't too hot on the idea of coming to the Officer's Ball tonight, but after talking to Ella again, it just seemed like a good idea."

"She can be rather persuasive when she wants," Erik shrugged, "Erin's told me when Ella sets her mind to something, there's usually no point in trying to stop her."

"Well I will say this," Martin added while adjusting his tie, "She and her work crew did a great job of organizing this event. The place looks really good."

A minute later, their respective "dates" for the evening returned from the bathroom after doing a makeup check. As they walked, Lucy smoothed out her classy black dress and commented to Ella, "You know, I still have no idea how you talked Martin into coming out tonight. I was a little uneasy about the whole thing too."

"Relax Dr. B. Let's just say I had a secret weapon in reserve," Ella smiled while patting the small handbag she carried, "Besides, I wanted all my friends to be out tonight and have a good time at this party I put together."

They greeted the boys as Erik held out his arm gallantly to Ella, "Shall we?"

The four mixed in and made their way onto the main Promenade admiring the décor while greeting a few familiar faces here and there. As they walked, Lucy nudged Martin gently, "Hey, so I know you weren't too keen about coming out tonight, and neither was I, but I'm glad we still decided to go."

He gave her a friendly smile and gently patted her hand, "Yeah, me too. Who knows, maybe we'll still have some fun yet. Though, we don't have to stay the whole night if you don't want to."

She shook her head, "No… it's okay. Let's stay a while."

Soon enough they were met by the other Rangers and Julian, who were all dressed in their finest too. Erik eyed the buffet table and shifted his feet, "I think I'm going to grab some chow. Anyone else want in?"

Ella sighed and shook her head, "All right already. Go eat."

She stopped a moment and turned to Bharata with a gently teasing voice, "Maybe you should go join him Bara. You look like you could stand to gain a couple extra pounds too."

To her surprise, the Green Ranger paused and nodded his head, "Yeah… actually, maybe I will. Good idea."

While Martin and Jake stood off the side chatting and sharing a laugh between them, Julian eyed the Pink Ranger, "Ella… don't tell me you still have it, do you? You're not still using it?"

"Using what?" Ella asked trying to play dumb while putting her handbag away.

"What are you both talking about?" Lucy and Erin asked in confusion.

Julian swiped the bag from Ella and gave a huff as he removed his experimental device. "The subsonic brainwave emitter? Ella! You said you were going to be responsible with this."

"And I am," she insisted, "I'm using this for a good cause so everyone can have fun tonight! It got everyone here, didn't it?"

Lucy plucked the device from her aide's hand with a reproving frown, "I think all of you have caused enough trouble already. I'm going to hold on to this for the rest of the evening."

Erin took Julian's arm with an amused smile, "Ohh, new bad boy Julian is breakin' some rules. I think I kinda like it."

"Oh get a room you two," Ella mumbled sarcastically while strolling off to chat with some other guests instead.

Lucy held the emitter in her hand and deactivated it. She thought for a minute and figured that Ella must have used the gadget to trick Martin into coming tonight. While she wasn't happy about the pretense, she couldn't feel too upset at the Pink Ranger either. It was for a good cause and it did give Lucy the opportunity to be out on a date of sorts. She chewed her lip for a moment before reactivating the device and tucking it into her white waist sash.

* * *

Later that evening, Lucy checked her watch as the song she and Martin were slow dancing to wound down. Midnight was fast approaching and she debated taking advantage of the neuro emitter's powers, even if it was to get a kiss. Then again, Martin had been a perfect gentleman and an attentive date all evening. For her to do something like that felt a little like cheating. "You don't think Chrissy minds you being out at a party tonight with another girl, does she?"

He shook his head, "Nah. She's going to be celebrating with her own family tonight and I told her I'd be going with a trusted friend so there's no need to worry. In fact, she said she'd like to meet you someday."

"Oh? Um, sure. That sounds nice," Lucy lied. Before she could say anything else she was bumped from behind.

"Ah! So sorry Dr. Beckett," Jake apologized sheepishly as he and Lt. Clarissa Lewis made their way off the dance floor. "I haven't had much to drink at all and I'm already feeling like a bit of a klutz."

"Can't be nerves, can it?" Clarissa teased gently.

"Nah luv, more like worried that if I step out of line dancing with you I might get busted down to private."

As Jake and Clarissa moved on, Lucy glanced down and froze in horror realizing that Julian's gadget had been knocked loose from her sash when she got bumped. It was nowhere to be found! She looked around the crowded room in a mild panic as Martin turned back to her, "Luce? Is everything okay?"

"Oh fine. Fine. Everything is just fine," she replied with a nervous laugh, "Can you excuse me for a minute? I need to go, uh… powder my nose."

Lucy hurried away and wove through the other party guests keeping an eye on the floors where the device might have been kicked or rolled. As she passed the food table, she paused and stared as Bharata stood talking with a few other officers while holding a small plate full of appetizers.

He stopped and offered the plate, "Oh hey Dr. B! Great party huh? Do you want to try some of these? They're so good! I've really been chowing down on them tonight."

"Err… no thanks," she said politely while weaving past and continuing her search. He must have been affected by the device too based on what Ella had suggested to him earlier about eating more. As she came to edge of the Promenade, she saw the door to a storage closet off to the side that was somewhat ajar. As she neared, she heard some rustling and giggling before she peeked inside. To her shock, she saw Julian and Erin jump out of each other's arms and try to compose themselves. Erin cleared her throat and tried to straighten her mussed hair while Julian readjusted his neck tie and tried to wipe way a few faint lipstick smudges from his face. Not surprisingly, the color seemed to match the shade Erin was wearing that evening.

"Dr. Beckett… um, we weren't expecting to see you… here," Julian said hesitantly trying to catch his breath, "We uhh…"

"We couldn't wait for midnight," Erin cut in matter of factly, "So we took Ella's advice and got a room. Is there anything we can help you with?"

Lucy took a quick look on the floors and shook her head, "No. Never mind… uh, carry on."

She closed the closet door and shook her head while making her way back into the crowd milling about the Promenade. She glanced at her watch in dismay and saw it was now only a few minutes before midnight and she didn't know whether to go find Martin or keep looking for the neural emitter. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Ella and Erik join her, "Hey Dr. Beckett. Everything okay? You look lost."

Lucy sighed, "Actually everything isn't okay. I lost the neural emitter on the dance floor."

"I figured," Ella replied holding it up and handing it back to her, "It rolled into my foot and nearly caused me to wipe out earlier. Lucky thing Erik has good balance. Still, I don't know how much good the device will do now."

"What? Why?"

Ella tapped the top of the small cylindrical gadget, "It's out of juice. I think the battery just ran out."

Lucy took the device back in dismay and tucked it safely in her sash again, "I see… well, thanks anyway."

Erik accepted a few champagne glasses from a server passing by before pointing to a large clock on the wall. "Hey guys, it's almost time."

Lucy looked around and watched as the final countdown for the new year commenced. When the last seconds counted down, a net of balloons and confetti opened up and rained down on the guests as partygoers gave cheers, threw back their drinks, and exchanged New Year's kisses with their dates.

Nearby, Jake had caught Clarissa passing by and put an arm around her waist. In one smooth suave motion, he dramatically dipped her and planted a big kiss on her lips, not getting any protest. Across from that scene, Erik and Ella turned to each other and gave a sheepish shrug. "Oh what the hell? We did it once in Rome? Why not do it again?"

Erik and Ella gave each other a hug and took a moment to exchange an innocent friendly kiss between themselves too. Meanwhile, Dr. Beckett suddenly found herself fending off a drunken Marine Lieutenant who had approached her.

"Hey pretty lady, it's New Years. You haven't been kissed yet, have you?"

Lucy wrinkled her nose and handed him her untouched glass of champagne, "Here. Why don't you go put your lips around another glass of alcohol."

The Marine officer took the glass and mumbled something before giving a shrug and walking off drinking from the champagne glass.

As Erin and Julian made their way back to the main floor and joined them, Lucy turned back to the Blue and Pink Rangers waiting politely before they parted ways. When they did, she gave a sigh, "Well… I guess still need to find my date. I don't suppose either of you two have seen Martin, have you?"

Ella nodded, "Yeah, we just saw him a couple minutes ago. He was standing around waiting for you so I told him he should cut loose on the dance floor in the meantime."

Ella stopped and exchanged a look of dawning realization with Lucy as they remembered the neural emitter had still been active at that time, "Ooooh boy."

"Oh boy is right. Look!" Erik laughed pointing over toward the main floor of the Promenade.

Their search was immediately ended as some high energy dance music began to play and a surprised murmur went through the crowd. Everyone turned to see what was going on and the Rangers stared in amazement as they saw Martin head out on the dance floor by himself moving to the beat. They continued to gawk at the Red Ranger as he began up-rocking and arm waving enthusiastically while the edges of the floor cleared out to watch. With single minded focus, Martin started to dance like no one was watching. After a few more flashy dance steps, he slid to the ground doing some break dancing hand glides before whirling on the floor in an improvised back spin... still in his full dress uniform. After a few rotations, he kicked himself up in one motion without missing a beat and continued dancing while the other spectators applauded.

"Oh my God… is the Captain drunk?" Clarissa asked in wide eyed shock while Erik raised his smart phone up and started video recording the spectacle.

"Erik! What are you doing?" Lucy chided him, "Shouldn't we stop Martin?"

The Blue Ranger laughed aloud and kept filming, "Are you kidding? He's in the zone right now! Let the man dance!"

Bharata and Jake could only look on in bewilderment while Ella and Erin cat called and cheered their dancing squad leader on. As she watched the scene unfold, Lucy simply shook her head and began to laugh. In the face of such comedic error and absurdity, it was all she could do. It wasn't exactly the way she was expecting the evening to go, but as the Rangers could attest to, no mission ever went the way they expected either. At least for this moment, she would do what she had always done while performing her duties. She would watch over her Rangers and laugh along at their foibles and follies.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **That's it for the little bonus chapters everyone. Hopefully you enjoyed getting a little more time with our heroes when they're off duty and not busy saving the world. Heck, maybe you even got a few laughs along the way too. I'll plan to try and start Season 2 in a few months as a separate story entry so stay tuned. I'll make an announcement when the time comes. As always, thanks for reading!**


End file.
